Lenovo's 2022 Smart Glasses Very Nearly Look Normal
Lenovo is one of the few mainstream consumer electronics brands that are serious about extended reality (XR) wearables and already has high-end products out in the market. Take, for example, the ThinkReality A3 smart glasses, which bring the perks of augmented reality to a device that looks very much like a pair of regular sunglasses. However, the company's latest smart glasses — the Glasses T1 — avoid the metaverse ambitions and take a different route toward becoming a more personal entertainment hub.
The Glasses T1 is more like a virtual monitor that can link up with your phone or PC and bring its display right in front of your eyes in a wearable form factor. All you need is a USB-C cable for Android or a Lightning cable for iPhone and you're good to go. In case you're wondering, these glasses also play well with Windows and macOS machines.
Chris Burns/SlashGear
Lenovo has fitted micro-LED display units on its wearable, with each lens delivering a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution equivalent. Lenovo is touting a contrast ratio of 10,000:1, which is not really the best when compared to Micro-OLED TV panels or mini-LED screens on laptops like the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Lenovo says it has also baked in some sort of flicker-reduction tech. Unfortunately, the screen refresh rate has been capped at 60Hz only. If you are used to a 90Hz or 120Hz screen on your smartphone, you will feel a noticeable difference when using the Lenovo smart glasses, especially considering the close viewing range.
Not quite the wearable of metaverse dreams
The idea behind the Glasses T1 is to serve as a more personal secondary screen that can fit in your pocket and doesn't require any complex processing or battery hardware to go with it. Lenovo hasn't explained how far the app compatibility goes for casting apps from different software platforms but says it will work with the Ready For platform offered with Motorola phones and Lenovo computers.
Ready For is Lenovo's take on Samsung's DeX, letting users view their phone's screen on a larger display. Users can also pair accessories like a keyboard to get serious work done on the larger connected screen. From gaming to streaming Netflix, Ready For is said to handle everything you can do on your phone's screen, and by that extension, on the Glasses T1, too.
Chris Burns/SlashGear
Instead of focusing on the smart side of the glasses here, Lenovo has paid more attention to the practical utility and convenience aspects. The nose clips are swappable and you can also adjust the temple arm position for maximum comfort. The screen comes with TUV certification for cutting down blue light exposure, which definitely comes in handy because of the direct exposure from lenses in close proximity to the eyes. The retail package also comes with frames that can take prescription lenses. There is no word on the pricing yet, but it will be announced once the Glasses T1 goes on sale in China later this year, and in select overseas markets in 2023.