If you’re getting fatigued by all the AI talk, there’s not much you can do. Artificial intelligence has arrived and it’s here to stay. And while there are some obvious downsides to the groundbreaking technological development (e.g., loss of jobs, obfuscated artistry), there can also be some serious benefits. One such mode of tech that showcases those benefits is the world of personal assistants like smart glasses, smart rings, and smartwatches.
While the Meta AI smartglasses rolled out last year and have already shown how rapidly they can improve upon their own drawbacks, new brands are going to start cropping up left and right, like Halliday, a tech startup that plans to make big leaps in the world of AI-boosted wearables.
Halliday Smart Glasses Basics
Debuting at CES this week, Halliday’s flagship smart glasses are different from the current Meta specs by Ray-Ban in that they feature an incredibly tiny screen built into the frame above the eye. Billed as the world’s first proactive AI glasses with an invisible display, the units are also designed for comfort at just 1.2oz and stylistic accessibility with the brand offering classic silhouettes that won’t make it look like you’re wearing a giant piece of tech on your face at all times. They’re also prescription lens-compatible.
Regardless of your vision quality, the 3.6-mm screen (the smallest display module ever) will appear as a 3.5-inch display and will eliminate light leakage and rainbow effects of other smart glasses. The display is also intended to appear visible in bright sunlight. The battery life on the glasses will last you 12 hours in active use and over 100 hours of standby time.
One cool feature of the Halliday smart glasses is its “proactive AI,” which can analyze the world around you to take initiative in conversations or meetings, providing you with information, answering questions you may have, and summarizing key discussion points for viewing later.
The glasses also have a nifty translation function that can currently translate 40 languages in real-time so you can have conversations with those who speak in a different tongue. Other features include turn-by-turn navigation, a song lyrics display, voice memo transcription, and your standard notifications.
Aiding in Discretion
As opposed to current smart glasses that are either touch- or voice-activated, the Halliday specs are operated via an accompanying ring with a trackpad, so you can scroll, toggle, and select items on the screen in front of you. According to the company, “People check their phones nearly 200 times a day, adding up to roughly 130 feet of hand movement, and that can be awkward in important moments.” So essentially, reading texts during boring in-person conversations has never been easier!
Long-Term Effects?
One can only speculate on the long-term effects of having a bright scrolling screen constantly uber-close to your retinas, as well as the muscle movement of constantly looking up in the corner to read incoming messages and search results, but perhaps these companies will be researching safer ways to present this tech as it continues to grow in popularity.
Spec Sheet
Screen Size: 3.6mm
Battery Life: 12 hours (active), 100+ hours (standby)
Weight: 1.2oz
Release Date: TBA
Pricing & Availability
More information should be revealed in the coming weeks or months, including a Kickstarter page for funding the project. Currently, however, you can deposit $10 on Halliday’s website to reserve a pair for yourself, while locking in a $369 “Launch Day” price. The regular price will start at $489.
Halliday AI-Boosted Smart Glasses
Halliday is a startup that’s unveiling its new smart glasses with proactive AI that can take notes and translate 40 languages. There’s also the world’s smallest display module built into the frames and an accompanying ring that lets you scroll and select.
