Vuzix To Launch Amazon Alexa Powered AR Smart Glasses At CES 2018

A few days back we got our first indication that Amazon Alexa would be heading to smartwatches and headphones later this year. If you thought hat was cool, the first ever Amazon Alexa smart glasses have been announced and they will debut at CES 2018. These Augmented Reality smart glasses will be built by Vuzix Corp. and are called Vuzix Blade.

The AR glasses will be tied to the Alexa voice assistant and will be able to display information the user asks Alexa for in the wearer's field of view, according to Vuzix CEO Paul Travers. Amazon has also confirmed that the Blade smart glasses will be the first to launch with Alexa tech inside. An Amazon spokeswoman said Amazon is "excited about the potential of the glasses and the ability to bring Alexa to customers in a new way."

Vuzix plans to launch the AR Alexa-powered smart glasses by the end of Q2 2018. The cost will be about $1,000, according to Travers. The executive admits that is a "high price point" but he said, "the ultimate goal is to have it under $500, and we’ll be able to do that." That under $500 goal is attainable by 2019, according to Travers.

These Alexa-powered glasses will be able to offer some very cool functionality for Amazon customers who enable Alexa capability. They will be able to do things like ask Alexa to pull up a map or display sports scores on the glasses, for instance. Travers does expect that while his company is first to market. Amazon will eventually launch its own glasses as well. He said, "I think everyone is going to come out with glasses sooner or later."

There are plenty of other companies looking to launch smart glasses. Apple is looking to design its own AR glasses and has a goal of having the tech ready by 2020. Oculus plans to launch the Oculus Go VR headset as well this year, for $200, that needs no PC or smartphone.