The TCL RayNeo X2 might be the breakthrough AR glasses needed
The TCL RayNeo X2 might be the breakthrough AR glasses needed
Directions right in front of your eyes and live language translation are among their impressive features
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: TCL, uh, finds a way
🗽 TCL RayNeo X2’s onscreen GPS nav will point out local landmarks to you
🤯 The glasses detect foreign language speech and show on-screen subtitles
📣 TCL launching a developer program to create software and features
😎 RayNeo X2 to be sent to developers Q1 2023 and released “later”
The chunky TCL RayNeo X2 might make you look like a near-future Jeff Goldblum, but it may be worth it for all the tech they carry in their heft. Dual, high-contrast Micro LED displays with up to 1,000 nits brightness promise to offer a truly useful augmented reality experience without cramping your style (as long as that style is cheerfully quirky). TCL says they remain lightweight, though it also calls them “subtle,” so who knows what to believe.
The RayNeo X2 glasses are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and connect to your phone via Bluetooth to allow for on-screen text and phone call notifications. They also boast on-board GPS, which may be one of their secret weapons.
The GPS navigation feature uses simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and gesture recognition to help you get around. It sounds like TCL wants it to also act as a sort of tour guide, pointing you to nearby landmarks while you walk or bike around a city.
Smarty pants, er, glasses
They’ve even got their own built-in AI to perform, among other things, live language translation, using automatic detection to begin translating and putting subtitles onscreen for you. This would be nice for breaking down language barriers when both parties have the glasses, sure, but I wonder if it would also be useful for foreign language television that lacks English subtitles? Hmm.
Beyond the more directly useful features, TCL says the company is putting out a call for developers to help it come up with features for the system to complement those the company has already built, which includes first-party AR games.
Everything about the glasses sounds impressive so far, but of course, we’ve been burned before, haven’t we? We’ve got a team on the ground that’s going to check them out, and try to answer some of the more important questions, such as: what if I already wear glasses? Prescription lenses aren’t mentioned once in the press release.
The TCL RayNeo X2 will get into the hands of developers in select regions in Q1 2023, with a full launch in the formless void that is “later.”