So now we know that the future is wearing cameras on our faces, with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses leading the way. But Meta now has an interesting new rival.
Solos AirGo Vision AI glasses will be powered by ChatGPT, offering “seamless interaction with ChatGPT, engaging in natural conversations without the hassle of typing,” according to Solos.
Solos has been a consistent competitor in the smart glasses landscape in recent years, but the AirGo Vision model is its first with a in-built camera.
While it has a camera in the frame, the unusual modular design means users can swap out the front plate for one without a camera to make them normal glasses, sunglasses, or sports glasses, without losing the other features.
The camera takes photos and shoots video, and also enables visual search – so you can look at something through the lenses and the smart glasses will tell you more about it.
Despite Solos having the latest GPT-4o built in, it also uses an open architecture so users can choose different AI frameworks such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude – enabling people to choose their favorite AI solution.
With ten hours of battery life you could have a bit of fun with these, and I predict that content creators might find these a useful alternative to handheld tech while on the go.
One feature that interests me is the Solostranslate, which enables you to “effortlessly break language barriers with real-time multilingual translation.”
Despite this arguably useful feature – when it works – I have to agree with my editor on this. Despite the initial childlike “oooo” I thought when I first heard of smart glasses with cameras, the adult me thinks “What’s the point?”
I don’t find typing a “hassle,” and I don’t like artificial intelligence knowing where I am, let alone having access to what I see or do – and I certainly don’t want a few hundred dollars worth of tech rolling around in my bag as the appeal wears off and I ultimately throw them in there without a case.
They cost roughly the same as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses at US$299 for the AirGo Vision with camera, but if you already own a pair of Solos AirGo smart glasses you can buy just the front plate with the camera for US$149.
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