CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public

CES 2018 - Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public

CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public

The augmented reality specialist Vuzix is trying out the mainstream market. The company presents a pair of connected glasses, Blade, which it is intended for sports fans.

Augmented reality specialist Vuzix took advantage of CES 2018 to present its new pair of connected glasses, called Vuzix Blade. Unlike the rest of Vuzix products, these "smart glasses" are primarily intended for the consumer market and especially for sports enthusiasts. The glasses work in tandem with a smartphone (Android or iOS) to which they connect by bluetooth. This dependence allows them to keep a format close to a conventional pair of glasses, with a weight of less than 85 grams.

FIRST GLASSES CONNECTED COMPATIBLE WITH AMAZON ALEXA

CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public

The user can receive a wide variety of notifications and features from his application directly on his field of vision (GPS directions, social networks, phone calls, videoconferencing, calendar reminders, biometrics for sports, etc.). The Vuzix Blades are also equipped with an 8 megapixel camera that allows, according to the company, to "never miss a picture". The user can use the touchpad located on the right arm of the glasses or use voice commands. Notably, these glasses will be the first to use Alexa, the personal assistant of Amazon.

A PROHIBITIVE PRICE OF 1000 DOLLARS

CES 2018 -Vuzix announces Blade, Augmented Reality Glasses for the General Public

This style-based and easy-to-use approach, unlike performance, differentiates Vuzix Blade from professional solutions like Microsoft HoloLens or its flagship product, the Vuzix M300. Vuzix rather positions Blade as a "wearable" of the same order as a smartwatch, even if it does not exclude an enterprise use for "light" tasks (by connecting the glasses to a Wi-Fi network to access to industrial applications). The professional market could well generate the majority of revenues related to Vuzix Blade ...

Indeed, there is a major obstacle to these ambitions for the general public: the price. The Vuzix Blades are expected to be available for sale in the second quarter of 2018 as a development kit, at a cost of around $ 1000. A sum that does not place the product within the reach of many consumers. The CEO of the company, Paul Travers, is aware of this. He told Bloomberg that his goal is to reach a price of $ 500 in 2019.