CES 2018: Alexa AR Glasses Features Stock Prices, Weather Updates

A New York-based company is preparing to showcase the first augmented reality (AR) glasses to feature Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The device is designed to present wearers with pertinent information directly in their field of view.

Over the weekend, Bloomberg learned that Rochester, New York-based company Vuzix is unveiling its Alexa-enabled smart glasses at the largest consumer technology trade show this week. The 75-employee company that specializes in wearable display and virtual reality and augmented reality technologies managed to integrate Alexa into its invention thanks to an Amazon program that enables third-party manufacturers to put the digital assistant into their products.

An Amazon spokeswoman has said that they are “excited about the potential of the glasses and the ability to bring Alexa to customers in a new way.” This is expected to be a win-win situation for both firms. Amazon would generate revenue from its Alexa service, while Vuzix’s smart glasses would easily appeal to the smart assistant’s following.

According to Phone Arena, Vuzix’s smart glasses will basically allow users to ask questions to Alexa and have the latter display answers and important information in the users’ field of view. This would make it possible for wearers to keep track of stock prices and sports scores using the spectacles. They could even get weather updates through the glasses.

To use the features of Vuzix’s AR glasses, Amazon says owners should be an Amazon subscriber first. So for those who do not have an account yet but are already planning to purchase the smart glasses, there is still time. Vuzix has scheduled the release of the AR glasses for the second quarter of this year. The device will be valued at $1,000, but Vuzix CEO Paul Travers wants to lower the price to $500 by 2019.

The launch of the Alexa-enabled AR glasses would surely be a game changer in the industry. Everyone’s attention was previously focused on Apple and its rumored AR smart glasses. However, the Cupertino giant is not expected to release its high-tech spectacles until 2020. Vuzix has also teased that Amazon could launch its own Alexa-enabled AR glasses soon. Hence, by the time Apple releases its AR glasses, Alexa-enabled glasses could have already established a market just like what happened to the Echo series and Apple’s upcoming HomePod.

It’s worth noting that Amazon and Apple aren’t the first ones to bring AR glasses to the market. Google tried to commercialize this technology way back in 2012. However, Google Glass failed due to its expensive price and very complicated distribution structure.