Meta may have a big head start in the smart glasses field right now, but that doesn’t mean it has the form factor figured out. While its Ray-Bans have leaned into AI and computer vision through an onboard camera, other entrants in the field don’t seem convinced that smart glasses need a camera at all.
Case in point? Lenovo. The maker of the ThinkPad has just released its first pair of smart glasses, the V1, which come with a micro LED screen and are almost impossibly light. Lenovo says its smart glasses weigh just 38 grams, making them 10 to 14 grams lighter than the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 1 and Gen 2 AI glasses, and about 30 grams lighter than the Meta Ray-Ban Display.
Though 10 grams (in the case of Meta’s non-display glasses) may not seem like a big difference, it’s worth remembering that these are worn on your face, so every gram counts. Plus, the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses don’t have a screen.
As mentioned, there is a small caveat to that impressive weight. Lenovo’s V1 glasses do not come equipped with a camera, which could be a dealbreaker for some users. Anyone looking to use smart glasses to capture video hands-free while biking or playing sports wouldn’t get much use out of the V1. Likewise, those interested in the computer vision features powered by Meta AI—such as translating text or answering questions about objects you’re looking at—would be disappointed.
That being said, a lack of a camera may not be a dealbreaker for everyone. Other companies in the smart glasses space, like Even Reality, have also sacrificed cameras to reduce weight and better cater to users concerned about privacy implications of discreetly recording their surroundings.
In the end, smart glasses might be more about the display than all the other features, and on that front, Lenovo is off to a fairly decent start. The V1 boasts 2,000 nits of brightness, which isn’t the brightest display on the market (the Meta Ray-Ban Display reaches up to 5,000 nits), but still holds its own.
The display is a monochrome micro LED—similar to those found in many other smart glasses—and can be used in both monocular or binocular modes (one or both eyes).
And no cameras doesn’t mean no AI. Lenovo is integrating its own voice assistant, enabling real-time translation, voice commands, and voice queries. Like Rokid glasses, the V1 also includes a teleprompter mode that lets you use the display for presentations.
If anything, Lenovo’s V1 is further proof that makers of smart glasses are still testing the waters regarding which features and hardware consumers find critical—and whether they value lightweight design and form factor over certain functions.
If you’re eager to try them out, Lenovo’s V1 glasses are available for preorder now for about $560, with an official release date of November 9. However, the launch is currently geared primarily toward the Chinese market.
https://gizmodo.com/lenovos-smart-glasses-are-among-the-lightest-you-can-buy-but-theres-a-catch-2000680723