These ChatGPT-powered smart glasses are the best case for wearable AI yet
Having previously wowed us with its ChatGPT-powered AirGo 3 smart glasses, Solos is adding a whole new dimension to its latest AI-enhanced eyewear: sight.
Unveiled at last week's Smart Glasses Summit in Hong Kong, The Solos AirGo Vision smart glasses offer all of the face-worn AI-assistant goodness of the specs that came before it, though this time outfitted with the means to perceive the world around you via a built-in camera with visual processing exclusively from ChatGPT-makers OpenAI's latest GPT-4o model.
But are these high-tech frames a wearable wonder, or another AI gadget that leaves us wanting?
AI wearables: Finding a form
Open up your trusty laptop or park yourself in front of your desktop computer and you'll be flooded with options when it comes to riding the new wave of AI applications and chatbots.
From the incredibly popular ChatGPT to the Google Workspace aid offered by Gemini, AI has exploded in popularity in recent years. However, while AI is accessible on just about everything now, including our smartphones, the race is on to fashion AI into something that isn't just the Copilot to our computing, but our wing man to the wider world.
There's only so much you can get done at a desk, after all. And, while it's all well and good that you can now ask Microsoft Copilot how to play Minecraft, there's only so many AI generated images you can make in Midjourney before you begin to understand that AI's real potential exists far beyond the confines of a keyboard.
Wearables like smartwatches, smart rings, and smart trackers allow us to effortlessly carry impressive tech with us at all times, in a mostly discrete manner that emulates accessories of old. They also appear to be a popular front runner when it comes to the future form factor for AI on the go.
Despite the recent underwhelming launch of Humane's Ai Pin—a Star Trek com-badge-like device controlled by hand gestures and outfitted with a laser projector instead of a traditional screen—wearable AI continues to be the goal of many companies, from Based Hardware's Friend Necklace to the memory augmenting Limitless Pendant.
However, as our previously one-dimensional AI assistants go multi-modal, making them more suited to decipher text, audio, and visual prompting, you need more than a fancy necklace. You need a wearable that can listen, reply, and see the world through your eyes—you need a pair of smart glasses much like Solos' latest AirGo Vision specs.
Solos AirGo Vision: ChatGPT-powered smart glasses
I was impressed by Solos' AirGo 3 smart glasses when I reviewed them at the start of this year. The ChatGPT-backed frames offered one touch assistance from the world's most popular chatbot, a comfy fit, and impressive audio from its temple-mounted, open-ear speakers.
Better still was the app-controlled smart features of the glasses, which provided real-time translation of several languages, an AI Coach health tracker, and a solid 10+ hours of battery life.
While smart tech can't actually make you smarter, it's hard not to appear like your IQ has shot up by four score when you have the world's smartest chatbot discretely whispering factoids into your ears at a moment's notice.
However, the new AirGo Vision smart glasses add an entirely new layer to that experience, with a built-in camera that offers real-time contextual information to provide translations, directions, information on landmarks, and even recognize people and objects—all powered by OpenAI's latest GPT-4o model for super-fast and accurate visual information processing.
The AirGo Vision also enhances accessibility by introducing LED notifications to alert users in noisy environments to notifications or incoming calls from their connected device by emitting a discrete blink of light that won't disturb those around.
Taking things that extra step further, the new AirGo Vision glasses will also be compatible with other popular AI models such as Anthropic Claude and Google Gemini, as Solos co-founder Kenneth Fan puts it: "Our in-house software team has built the AirGo Vision to harness the power of the best AI models available today."
Outlook
Are Solo's new AirGo Vision smart glasses the only device of its kind to offer AI assistance through audio, text, and visual mediums? No. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses released in October 2023 can lay claim to similar features.
However, while Solos' frames don't have the big brand backing of Ray-Ban behind them, they do offer access to powerhouse names in the world of AI to handle the behind the scenes work, including OpenAI's new GPT-4o model.
Interested in taking your glasses game to the next level with an always onboard AI assistant to lend a helping hand when needed? The AirGo Vision smart glasses will be available for purchase later this year from the Solos homepage.
