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Reality check

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date24 June 2022
Publication titleHuddersfield Daily Examiner
The only way AR is ever going to really take hold is if someone invents a lightweight and wearable pair of glasses that are no more inconvenient than regular glasses

This week we have news of a company that has at last gone some way to achieving that goal - and yet, while close, the technology is still not quite there.

You can now buy a pair of AR sunglasses from EE - the Nreal Air cost £399, and you can spread the cost as you might with a phone, paying £10 up front, then £35-a-month for 11 months.

That's pretty pricey, especially when you consider what they can do.

The first thing to know about the Airs is that they have no cameras. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

An advantage because it avoids the kind of privacy issues that more or less did for Google's Glass project.

It's a disadvantage because the Airs obviously have no idea what you are looking at while you are wearing them, and therefore can't really offer the kind of AR experience you might expect - no floating labels on landmarks, or direction arrows pointing the way as you try to navigate unfamiliar streets The second thing to know is the Airs need to be connected to a phone via a USB-C cable at all times. And there are only a very limited number of Android devices supported - so no iPhone.

Again, there are pluses and minuses to this.

It's the major reason the glasses are so light and comfortable to wear - they have no batteries of their own, but draw power from your phone.

This is also a disadvantage as they'll drain your phone battery with extended use. The cable also might be something of a distraction. So what we end up with is a pair of sunglasses that more or less look like a pair of sunglasses, but hidden within is a pair of tiny displays that can project images onto an extra set of lenses that sit behind the main ones at the front.

Once connected to your phone you can...

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