Xiaomi imagines what it wants smart glasses to look like with this new concept. The Xiaomi Smart Glasses feature a conventional glasses-like design. But, unlike the recently launched Facebook and Ray-Ban Stories, these get a display you can use for augmented reality features.
Xiaomi adds a monochrome MicroLED system into these glasses. Xiaomi opted for this display tech because it has "higher pixel density and longer lifespan while having a simpler structure" than OLED. The company also says it "allows for a more compact display, as well as easier screen integration." MicroLED is considered a successor to OLED. But it is still prohibitively expensive at the moment.
The Xiaomi Smart Glasses display is "roughly the size of a grain of rice" at 2.4mm x 2.02mm with a peak brightness of two million nits. But when you use this pair, the light won't be as bright as you expect. The extreme brightness will allow it to remain visible in direct sunlight after passing through an optical waveguide lens, which refracts and directs light.
The use cases for these glasses include navigation, live translation, quick photography, and notifications. These are designed to be independent Android devices that won't require a constant phone connection. The company even suggests that the tech could replace phones someday.
The Xiaomi Smart Glasses come equipped with an unspecified quad-core Arm processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, a five-megapixel camera, and a battery. All of that weighing in at just 51 grams.
Xiaomi has no plans to make these glasses available to the public. But they showcase the vision the company has in the space. As The Verge pointed out, what's more notable is the timing of sharing this news between Facebook's recent announcement and Apple's upcoming event this afternoon. Xiaomi wants you to think about how it can fit in the AR and wearable space.