Xiaomi, the global technology leader, has announced Xiaomi Smart Glasses – a brand new smart wearable device. Xiaomi Smart Glasses is capable of combining imaging systems and sensors into a subtle, ordinary glasses design through MicroLED optical waveguide technology. Weighing a mere 51g, Xiaomi Smart Glasses is able to display messages and notifications, make calls, navigate, capture photos, and translate text right before your eyes.
This development is particularly interesting considering that Facebook launched the Facebook glasses not too long ago as a response to google glasses.
Xiaomi’s glasses have a relatively conventional form factor, but unlike Facebook and Ray Ban’s just-announced Stories glasses, they actually do have a display that can be used for AR features. Xiaomi says it went with a monochrome MicroLED system because of its “higher pixel density and longer lifespan while having a simpler structure” when compared to OLED. According to Xiaomi, MicroLED “allows for a more compact display, as well as easier screen integration.”
MicroLED is a self-emissive display technology that is widely viewed as the natural successor to OLED. However, it remains prohibitively expensive and is yet to be deployed in more than a handful of commercial products.
Xiaomi’s display is “roughly the size of a grain of rice” at 2.4mm x 2.02mm and has a peak brightness of 2 million nits. The light won’t be that bright once it actually reaches your eye, of course — the extreme brightness is so it can still be visible in direct sunlight after passing through an optical waveguide lens, which refracts and directs the light. Xiaomi cites use cases like navigation, live translation, and notifications for the display.
The glasses themselves are an independent Android device that don’t require a constant phone connection — Xiaomi suggests they could even replace your phone someday. There’s an unspecified quad-core Arm processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, a battery, and a five-megapixel camera on board. Xiaomi says the glasses weigh just 51 grams.
As mentioned upfront, these glasses aren’t going to be available to the public and may not actually even exist, so you should view Xiaomi’s claims with skepticism. However, coming after Facebook’s announcement and right before Apple’s iPhone event, the concept demonstration is a clear indicator that Xiaomi wants to be considered as a player in the AR space.
All modern means of communication rely on glass. From the Gorilla glass on our phones to the infotainment screens on our cars. But when I think of the internet I think of 5G, Starlink satellites, and WiFi, and I never think about the 750,000 miles of fiber optic cables currently running under our oceans: the tiny strands of glass that carry all of our photos, emails, and video chats. It is through these hair-thin strands of fiber that we are able to instantly communicate to almost anyone, anywhere, and it all relies on a 5,000-year-old technology: glass.
About Xiaomi Corporation
Xiaomi Corporation was founded in April 2010 and listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 9, 2018 (1810.HK). Xiaomi is a consumer electronics and smart manufacturing company with smartphones and smart hardware connected by an IoT platform at its core.
Embracing our vision of “Make friends with users and be the coolest company in the users’ hearts”, Xiaomi continuously pursues innovations, high-quality user experience and operational efficiency. The company relentlessly builds amazing products with honest prices to let everyone in the world enjoy a better life through innovative technology.
Xiaomi is one of the world’s leading smartphone companies. The company’s market share in terms of smartphone shipments ranked No. 2 globally in the second quarter of 2021. The company has also established the world’s leading consumer AIoT (AI+IoT) platform, with 374.5 million smart devices connected to its platform as of June 30, 2021, excluding smartphones and laptops. Xiaomi products are present in more than 100 countries and regions around the world. In August 2021, the company made the Fortune Global 500 list for the third time, ranking 338th, up 84 places compared to 2020.
Xiaomi is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, Hang Seng TECH Index and Hang Seng China 50 Index.
