Qualcomm Is Teaming With Google And Samsung On Mixed Reality Smart Glasses
It seems it is a good time to be getting into the virtual and mixed reality device scene. Analysts at TrendForce recently reported shipments are “expected to increase year-by-year over the next few years.” This is more than likely why Apple is not fully giving up on its Vision Pro strategy, but instead shifting to a more budget friendly version. So, while it may be a surprise that Qualcomm, Samsung, and Google are working together, it shouldn’t be a shock that they are doing so on a mixed reality headset.
“It’s going to be a new product, it’s going to be new experiences,” expressed Amon in a recent interview. “But what I really expect to come out of this partnership, I want everyone that has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it.”
During the CNBC interview, Amon spoke about Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which take regular looking sunglasses and turn them into much more. Meta’s smart glasses include an 12MP camera, a capture button, open-ear speakers, a touchpad, and a power switch. Users can also take advantage of using Meta AI, getting answers to questions straight from the smart glasses.
Speaking of AI, Amon remarked about the upcoming mixed reality glasses, “AI is going to run on the device. It’s going to run on the cloud. It’s going to run some in the glass, some in the phone, but at the end of the day, there’s going to be whole new experiences.”
One shift in VR and AR glasses that may spur more sales in the coming months and years for VR and AR glasses is their size. One of the biggest complaints with current VR headsets is how bulky they are. A pair of smart glasses could solve this dilemma for many.
“I think we need to get to the point that the glasses are going to be no different than wearing a regular glasses or sunglasses. And then with that, we can get scale,” Amon explained.
Currently, Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses run $329 without prescription lenses. It will be interesting to see what price point a pair of Qualcomm smart glasses designed in collaboration with Google and Samung land at.
