One of the Most Prolific VR Headset Makers (Not Meta) Now Has Smart Glasses (Not Ray-Bans)

0
8K

XR, or extended reality, headsets are on the outs, but smart glasses are eating more and more of what was once VR’s slice of the face-mounted wearables pie. HTC, one of the few lingering pioneers of VR headsets with its Vive series, couldn’t stand up to Meta’s Quest for cheap consumer virtual reality, but it may be able to shoulder in some room with a new pair of smart glasses that goes tit for tat with Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley HSTN smart eyewear.

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have proved popular enough that now many of the longtime staples of VR are coming out of the woodwork to offer their own version. HTC is now fashioning a pair of stylish frames called the Vive Eagle. They come in slick translucent plastic and sport the usual 12-megapixel ultrawide cameras and twin speakers on each arm. It’s using a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset and comes with 32GB of onboard storage. In a video, HTC showed off a few of the unique features for the Vive Eagle, including AI noise suppression to keep ambient noise down when you’re on a call.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ActLJCvv6xg[/embed]

Like the Ray-Ban Meta, the Vive Eagle also connects to an AI assistant. The device can use AI image and text recognition if you need it to spell any text you’re looking at. Vive is compatible with Google Gemini and ChatGPT for features like translation, though we don’t have more details about what specific models users will have access to. HTC said users should also be able to ask the AI to set up calendar events. Like Meta’s glasses AI, the Vive Eagle has a “memory” feature that can recall people you’ve met or where you parked your car. Users would need to connect through the Vive Connect app to use any of these AI features. HTC hasn’t mentioned what apps Vive Eagle will be compatible with, and since the smart glasses are currently only available in Taiwan, it’s unclear what sort of compatibility we can expect if it ever makes its way to the U.S.

If the AI wasn’t already a big copycat scheme, the smart glasses would be practically identical to the Ray-Bans in specs. HTC promised the Vive Eagle can do a full 4.5 hours of continuous music playback, and it should last more than 36 hours on standby on its 235mAh battery. Meta promises users should get up to four hours on the Ray-Bans with moderate usage. The larger Oakley Meta glasses promise a up to five hours of audio playback at 100% charge. HTC promises the Vive Eagle will charge from 0 to 50% in less than 10 minutes with fast charging through its glasses case.

Considering the specs and capabilities, HTC’s biggest impediment will be price. It’s currently asking for 15,600 new Taiwan dollars, or around $535. The device could cost less if HTC ever brings the Vive Eagle to the U.S., and even then it will face stiff competition. Some China-based companies are going hard into AR glasses, including ones with full screens housed in utterly massive frames. Other Ray-Ban Meta competitors, like these glasses from Xiaomi feature much longer battery life, closer to 8 hours of continuous music playback. Meta has still yet to release a rumored $1,000 pair of AR glasses codenamed “Hypernova” featuring a small heads-up display. We’re still waiting to see what comes out of Android XR and Google’s partnership with glasses maker Xreal.

Vive Eagle Black
© HTC

HTC’s last big product, the Vive Focus Vision, was an expensive $1,000 headset for PC VR with a dated VR-focused chipset and Fresnel lenses, an older style of lenses found on the $300 Meta Quest 3S that are considered worse than pancake lenses found on the $500 Meta Quest 3. If HTC really wants to compete with other big smart glasses makers, it needs to show us a product we truly haven’t seen before—preferably at a lower price.

Like
Love
Haha
3
Zoeken
Categorieën
Read More
Food
Boston Chocolate Cream Pie Cheesecake
Boston Chocolate Cream Pie CheesecakeIngredients:For the Crust:1 1/2 cups graham cracker...
By cehrui 2024-10-07 15:29:09 0 30K
Science
Non-Hormonal Male Birth Control Pill Passes Key Test
For many couples, the numerous options for birth...
By Chrisdancer 2025-07-26 14:23:02 0 7K
News
Từ 1/7/2025 không được miễn thi ngoại ngữ trong tuyển dụng công chức theo Nghị định 170 đúng không?
Theo quy định về hình thức, nội dung và thời gian thi...
By Throwawayday39 2025-08-02 23:34:05 0 8K
News
Ngô Thanh Vân có 8 quy tắc 'căng cực' vì con gái đầu lòng
Sinh con đầu lòng ở tuổi 46, Ngô Thanh Vân tích cực...
By MiOMiOcrafts 2025-08-18 02:42:13 0 8K
News
Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM xác định điểm chuẩn học bạ sẽ cao hơn điểm thi tốt nghiệp THPT 2025 khoảng 3,5 điểm
Cụ thể, trường Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM đưa ra số liệu...
By pwahahaha 2025-07-27 02:15:10 0 8K