The smart specs arm race is really starting to hot up this year. Meta is now on its second generation pair of Meta Ray Bans, while Google has tapped up Samsung (along with eyewear designers Gentle Monster and Warby Parker) for its latest effort, which promises to be a lot more mainstream than Google Glass ever was. Then on the AR side, Asus has partnered with Xreal for a pair of gamer-grade glasses. Acer’s two new wearables cover both bases.
First up, the AR Vision GR0. These augmented reality glasses plug into your smartphone or laptop (Android, iOS and Windows will be supported at launch) through a cable, then beam the output to two micro OLED screens – one for each eye. The end result will be like eyeballing a 172in screen from six meters away. You’re getting a full HD resolution per eye, with support for both 2D and 3D content.
The glasses have built-in proximity sensors and accelerometers for head tracking, a detachable light shield to make you feel like you’ve got a tiny cinema strapped to your face, and speakers near the ears for stereo sound. At 69g they don’t sound all that heavy either.
Acer says they have work, learning and productivity in mind, but that they can also handle their own for gaming.
The 46g Acer GI0 AI glasses, meanwhile, are meant to be worn all the time. With a built-in camera, stereo speakers and an on-board voice assistant, they’ll be going directly up against Meta – except here you’re getting Gemini rather than the Meta AI helper, whether you pair to an Android smartphone or an iOS one.
It’ll be able to translate languages in real-time, analyse images taken with the 12MP camera, and answer general queries. Acer has also developed its own voice recording function for keeping track of conversations and meeting minutes. 32GB of on-board storage should hold plenty of photos and videos.
There’s no word yet on how long they’ll last per charge, or whether Acer has multiple styles planned. The version shown for the announcement looks a little businesslike for my taste.
Both new pairs are set to go on sale at the end of 2026. Prices will start at €399 for the GI0 and rise to €599 for the AR Vision GR0.
Read the full article here
