7 ms·

Is anybody making smart glasses that are just a display? For me, the rest of the feature set verges on being anti-features. I'd much rather a very rudimentary d

Is anybody making smart glasses that are just a display? For me, the rest of the feature set verges on being anti-features. I'd much rather a very rudimentary display that my phone or another device could send relatively low bandwidth data to over bluetooth or some other protocol and build from there. Having a camera or a mic on the glasses themselves seems like something I'd mostly want to avoid for privacy, and having a speaker just seems like gilding the lily when we already have a variety of headphones to choose from.

arbayi 1y ago
https://store.vufine.com/ https://store.vufine.com/ I think vufine might be what you are looking for, I don't know much about them as well, also found it here on Hacker News.
- alchemist1e9 1y ago
  It’s wired and very finicky. Basically a 10 year old solution to this problem. I have on in my collection. It’s cool but not really useful or in same tier as the other products being mentioned.’
skhameneh 1y ago
Not quite "smart glasses", but if you want "glasses that are just a display", the Lenovo Legion Glasses are pretty good and they look like normal aviators at first glance. I have a pair and I've been experimenting a bit. For iOS you can mirror display or use Stage Manager. For Android, at least with Samsung, DEX is pretty decent. For audio, they're decent too, I like the convenience and comfort. The audio has good fidelity, but depth is mediocre (better than phone speakers though). FWIW I say DEX is decent, having much of the same gripes as I do with Stage Manager. Dual screen, resizing windows, and full screen support is still a mixed bag on all mobile devices. It can be very frustrating at times. Application support on iOS and Android is about the same, which is disappointing. Supposedly iOS 26 fixes some of this, but I haven't tried the beta.
HeatrayEnjoyer 1y ago
Glasses with a camera should be legislated away with specific narrow exceptions for e.g. safety in certain industrial tasks.
- skhameneh 1y ago
  Reframe this to accommodate for the prevalence and general expectations of where cameras exist. Many people walk around with a mobile device out, essentially carrying a device with (increasingly) close to a 360 camera view. Cameras are ubiquitous and targeting one niche device is a waste of time and effort.
  - esseph 1y ago
    Sounds like a lobbyist pitch from Big Camera Glasses
- com2kid 1y ago
  Because smart glasses, that flash a light and make a loud noise when taking a picture, are more invasive than phones literally everywhere? Or street billboards with built in cameras? Or how about dash cams in cars? CCTV cameras on ATMs as you walk down the street?
  - 1oooqooq 1y ago
    "why would murder be illegal? people get killed all the time. are you going to outlaw cars because you can run over someone? murder laws make no sense." kids these days. geez.
    - com2kid 1y ago
      The point is, smart glasses (which to be clear only take a picture when a button is pressed, just like any other camera people own) are not different than any other camera. Also in the US there is no legal expectation of privacy on public streets. Plenty of public facing webcams are available for viewing. Passing a law regulating the shape of a camera body is just stupid. Outlawing camera glasses makes less sense than outlawing camera flowers.
queSide 1y ago
I think most of Xreal's offerings are just a display you plug into a phone or laptop.
- oniony 1y ago
  Viture too.
floren 1y ago
Not to toot my own horn, but I've been fiddling with a now-discontinued, very cheap pair of display smart glasses: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45087803 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45087803 You can send low-resolution images to them via Bluetooth. I just figured out how to read button presses. There are speakers and a mic, but I haven't figured out how to use them yet (they don't show up as regular audio devices on Linux). You'd need to write custom stuff to generate the images, but with a little imagemagick scripting I've had some pretty usable results.
- bArray 1y ago
  Very cool work, and the write-up is also great. Personally I want to see something that isn't dependant on a depleting level of stock, ideally something open source. Otherwise the development investment just doesn't seem worth it.
SparkyMcUnicorn 1y ago
The "Even Realities G1" and "Vuzix Z100" options listed in the compatibility doc look interesting. https://github.com/Mentra-Community/MentraOS/blob/main/glasses-compatibility.md https://github.com/Mentra-Community/MentraOS/blob/main/glass... https://www.evenrealities.com/g1 https://www.evenrealities.com/g1 https://www.vuzix.com/products/z100-smart-glasses https://www.vuzix.com/products/z100-smart-glasses
unaut 1y ago
Yeah, same here—just give me a clean display and Bluetooth. No cameras, mics, or speakers needed!
numpad0 1y ago
Note that Solos smart glass from one of other comments might be on eBay for $49 each, but they used to be $499 new. Even Realities G1 is $599. Vufine was way cheaper at $199, but it was wired only and it came with no software whatsoever. Smart glasses inevitably cost in those ranges because the exotic displays used on them are costly to make and/or operate. Inkjet OLED on silicon or reflexive monochrome LCD with RGB sequential front lighting combined with a prism system or things of that nature. IOW, those excessive feature sets isn't drawn from product concepts or user stories, they're drawn backwards from cumulative parts and engineering costs to justify MSRP. Same reasons as why almost all EVs are marketed as premium products, they can't make them cheaply so they're adding extra glitters in paint to justify price tags. If anyone could make displays smaller than a pinky fingernail at $5 that can be driven with an Arduino... then there would be lots of smart glasses that are just Bluetooth picture frames.
- andrewla 1y ago
  This rings true to me -- it's hard to sell a $480 device that only displays images. Easier to sell a $500 device that is a $480 display + $20 of crappy software and sensors and speakers and compute so that buyers think they're getting their money's worth.
nixonpjoshua 1y ago
https://www.xreal.com/us/ https://www.xreal.com/us/ https://global.rokid.com/ https://global.rokid.com/ Both of these companies make exactly that. I have Rokid Max, can't comment on the quality for the Xreal
- codethief 1y ago
  I own the Xreal One Pro – they are very good! (I wish their resolution was higher than 1080p but no one else offers anything better, either.)
circuit10 1y ago
It would be difficult to do head tracking without a camera and having it fixed in your view would limit what you could do with it and be distracting I think (depends on the use case/person though)
tonyhart7 1y ago
"Is anybody making smart glasses that are just a display?" it is called smart glasses when its just "glasses" ???
senectus1 1y ago
THIS! ever since reading the opening chapter of Charles Stross' Accelerando, this is what I've wanted.. an always present live information feed available on tap at any time.
caydenpiercehax 1y ago
Most people pursuing this include display + microphone. The microphone lets you pick up voice, which is critical. Captions, translation, note-taking, etc. all benefit from this. Even Realities G1 is this. Mentra is releasing a pair in first half of 2026 like this. Display + microphone.
renegat0x0 1y ago
To be honest most of my apps are web pages now. Even on my phone I do not use any more than the default apps. For what is missing I have written my own self-hosted pages. I sometimes wonder why people "synchronize" anything, since everything is in my self-hosted instance.
hnlmorg 1y ago
Loads. I’ve got a pair of Xreal glasses and use it regularly.
- walterbell 1y ago
  Viture similarly offers wired USB-c displayport, with myopia adjustment up to -5 diopters, and optional magnetic frame for custom prescriptions. They sell refurbs on eBay and have a Linux SDK. It's surprisingly functional as a mirrored monitor, without the additional software or hardware which adds platform-specific features like virtual monitors.
  - numpad0 1y ago
    Those birdbath stereo smartglasses must be coming from some exact same ODM, they're too same.

arbayi 1y ago

https://store.vufine.com/ https://store.vufine.com/ I think vufine might be what you are looking for, I don't know much about them as well, also found it here on Hacker News.

alchemist1e9 1y ago
It’s wired and very finicky. Basically a 10 year old solution to this problem. I have on in my collection. It’s cool but not really useful or in same tier as the other products being mentioned.’

skhameneh 1y ago

Not quite "smart glasses", but if you want "glasses that are just a display", the Lenovo Legion Glasses are pretty good and they look like normal aviators at first glance. I have a pair and I've been experimenting a bit. For iOS you can mirror display or use Stage Manager. For Android, at least with Samsung, DEX is pretty decent. For audio, they're decent too, I like the convenience and comfort. The audio has good fidelity, but depth is mediocre (better than phone speakers though). FWIW I say DEX is decent, having much of the same gripes as I do with Stage Manager. Dual screen, resizing windows, and full screen support is still a mixed bag on all mobile devices. It can be very frustrating at times. Application support on iOS and Android is about the same, which is disappointing. Supposedly iOS 26 fixes some of this, but I haven't tried the beta.

HeatrayEnjoyer 1y ago

Glasses with a camera should be legislated away with specific narrow exceptions for e.g. safety in certain industrial tasks.

skhameneh 1y ago
Reframe this to accommodate for the prevalence and general expectations of where cameras exist. Many people walk around with a mobile device out, essentially carrying a device with (increasingly) close to a 360 camera view. Cameras are ubiquitous and targeting one niche device is a waste of time and effort.
- esseph 1y ago
  Sounds like a lobbyist pitch from Big Camera Glasses
com2kid 1y ago
Because smart glasses, that flash a light and make a loud noise when taking a picture, are more invasive than phones literally everywhere? Or street billboards with built in cameras? Or how about dash cams in cars? CCTV cameras on ATMs as you walk down the street?
- 1oooqooq 1y ago
  "why would murder be illegal? people get killed all the time. are you going to outlaw cars because you can run over someone? murder laws make no sense." kids these days. geez.
  - com2kid 1y ago
    The point is, smart glasses (which to be clear only take a picture when a button is pressed, just like any other camera people own) are not different than any other camera. Also in the US there is no legal expectation of privacy on public streets. Plenty of public facing webcams are available for viewing. Passing a law regulating the shape of a camera body is just stupid. Outlawing camera glasses makes less sense than outlawing camera flowers.

queSide 1y ago

I think most of Xreal's offerings are just a display you plug into a phone or laptop.

oniony 1y ago
Viture too.

floren 1y ago

Not to toot my own horn, but I've been fiddling with a now-discontinued, very cheap pair of display smart glasses: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45087803 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45087803 You can send low-resolution images to them via Bluetooth. I just figured out how to read button presses. There are speakers and a mic, but I haven't figured out how to use them yet (they don't show up as regular audio devices on Linux). You'd need to write custom stuff to generate the images, but with a little imagemagick scripting I've had some pretty usable results.

bArray 1y ago
Very cool work, and the write-up is also great. Personally I want to see something that isn't dependant on a depleting level of stock, ideally something open source. Otherwise the development investment just doesn't seem worth it.

SparkyMcUnicorn 1y ago

The "Even Realities G1" and "Vuzix Z100" options listed in the compatibility doc look interesting. https://github.com/Mentra-Community/MentraOS/blob/main/glasses-compatibility.md https://github.com/Mentra-Community/MentraOS/blob/main/glass... https://www.evenrealities.com/g1 https://www.evenrealities.com/g1 https://www.vuzix.com/products/z100-smart-glasses https://www.vuzix.com/products/z100-smart-glasses

unaut 1y ago

Yeah, same here—just give me a clean display and Bluetooth. No cameras, mics, or speakers needed!

numpad0 1y ago

Note that Solos smart glass from one of other comments might be on eBay for $49 each, but they used to be $499 new. Even Realities G1 is $599. Vufine was way cheaper at $199, but it was wired only and it came with no software whatsoever. Smart glasses inevitably cost in those ranges because the exotic displays used on them are costly to make and/or operate. Inkjet OLED on silicon or reflexive monochrome LCD with RGB sequential front lighting combined with a prism system or things of that nature. IOW, those excessive feature sets isn't drawn from product concepts or user stories, they're drawn backwards from cumulative parts and engineering costs to justify MSRP. Same reasons as why almost all EVs are marketed as premium products, they can't make them cheaply so they're adding extra glitters in paint to justify price tags. If anyone could make displays smaller than a pinky fingernail at $5 that can be driven with an Arduino... then there would be lots of smart glasses that are just Bluetooth picture frames.

andrewla 1y ago
This rings true to me -- it's hard to sell a $480 device that only displays images. Easier to sell a $500 device that is a $480 display + $20 of crappy software and sensors and speakers and compute so that buyers think they're getting their money's worth.

nixonpjoshua 1y ago

https://www.xreal.com/us/ https://www.xreal.com/us/ https://global.rokid.com/ https://global.rokid.com/ Both of these companies make exactly that. I have Rokid Max, can't comment on the quality for the Xreal

codethief 1y ago
I own the Xreal One Pro – they are very good! (I wish their resolution was higher than 1080p but no one else offers anything better, either.)

circuit10 1y ago

It would be difficult to do head tracking without a camera and having it fixed in your view would limit what you could do with it and be distracting I think (depends on the use case/person though)

tonyhart7 1y ago

"Is anybody making smart glasses that are just a display?" it is called smart glasses when its just "glasses" ???

senectus1 1y ago

THIS! ever since reading the opening chapter of Charles Stross' Accelerando, this is what I've wanted.. an always present live information feed available on tap at any time.

caydenpiercehax 1y ago

Most people pursuing this include display + microphone. The microphone lets you pick up voice, which is critical. Captions, translation, note-taking, etc. all benefit from this. Even Realities G1 is this. Mentra is releasing a pair in first half of 2026 like this. Display + microphone.

renegat0x0 1y ago

To be honest most of my apps are web pages now. Even on my phone I do not use any more than the default apps. For what is missing I have written my own self-hosted pages. I sometimes wonder why people "synchronize" anything, since everything is in my self-hosted instance.

hnlmorg 1y ago

Loads. I’ve got a pair of Xreal glasses and use it regularly.

walterbell 1y ago
Viture similarly offers wired USB-c displayport, with myopia adjustment up to -5 diopters, and optional magnetic frame for custom prescriptions. They sell refurbs on eBay and have a Linux SDK. It's surprisingly functional as a mirrored monitor, without the additional software or hardware which adds platform-specific features like virtual monitors.
- numpad0 1y ago
  Those birdbath stereo smartglasses must be coming from some exact same ODM, they're too same.