Would you buy a Smart Glass in the foreseeable future?
Meta along with Ray-Ban announced new smart glasses and the YT reviewers are praising it.
For me, I don't find them particularly good and being a Meta product, it will be horrible for privacy. Also people can record others without their knowledge with these, hell no!
I'll be the outlier and say that given the perfect circumstances, I would buy Smart Glasses. BUT in no way, shape, or form would I buy META Smart Glasses.
I work a retail job where I'm staring at shelves for like 80% of my shift, it would be dope as hell to have smart glasses and have a video playing in my vision while I'm working.
But until there are more of an "open source" type Smart Glasses that aren't supported by one of the big companies like Meta or Apple, I'll join the rest of y'all on staying far away from them.
There’s open source but not video capable. The Brilliant Labs Halo glasses coming in November are more of an informational companion with a peripheral-view display rather than a field of view overlay. So it’s not what you’re looking for now, but maybe a generation or two later it’ll meet your needs.
That's still really cool to hear though, definitely looking forward to see where that is in a few years.
No, none of this. It doesn't matter if there are "good guys" versions. It shouldn't be a thing at all because it never goes the good way. They'll be bought out by Google or apple, and add in ads and tracking software. Or they'll get big and change core values. Remember when googles motto was like, don't be evil, or something like that? It definitely isn't that anymore. There is no scenario where this kind of tech doesn't turn bad.
Same for me. The technology is cool. Big tech corporations are not.
It'll be a hard no for any smart glasses from Meta or Google.
However, in the very distant and not quite guaranteed future, I would consider smart glasses (again, NOT by Meta/Google/etc) for accessibility.
As someone with auditory processing disorder, it would be a game changer if I had the ability to read live closed captions of what someone is saying, while they are talking to me. That would be my only use case.
No, and I think they oughta be illegal. I don't want to be recorded.
somebody tried to bring them to our psych ward and argue that they needed them because they were prescription (in fairness they were but bruh). it was a shitshow.
I wear glasses as anyways and I'd love a heads up display. Augmented reality where I could basically spawn full sized displays anywhere for work would be nice too. I'd probably need a device to control it somehow too.
However, I wouldn't want them from Google, Apple, Meta or any of the other large corporations. Not coupled with their walled gardens, their subscriptions, their EULAs and terms and conditions and "updates" I didn't ask for.
I just want the hardware and a driver for Linux. Connect the glasses via WiFi to my own computer and run the applications on this computer. If I want to use the glasses outside of my home, I would set up a VPN and use my phone to create a WiFi hotspot.
However, I'm pretty sure nobody is going to build it like that, so I'll never have smart glasses. Which is fine.
You can buy various HMDs that essentially mount to your existing glasses (I bought and fiddled about with one during the lockdown) and attach to any computer that supports USB. I haven't looked into whether there are any wireless options now, but you could satisfy at least some of your desires with that kind of thing.
Fuck no
In concept, they're the kind of sci-fi shit I dreamed of as a kid. The reality is that they'll be locked-down useless trash that you pay out the ass to spy on you.
And on everybody else.
I wouldn't use anything from Meta, no exceptions.
I would not wear one and would never trust anyone that would.
When some foss alternative releases at an affordable price, yes.
See y'all in 2077
No! Anyone who buys a phone on their head for $800 is the reason humanity is getting destroyed by corps
Just try this epidermal implant. You'll love it. But, you'll need the brain implant to activate it...
Just in a dream scenario where they are
I feel like a phoneless future is quite interesting, even though we will face new issues like not knowing if a person is paying attention to you or not.
100% Repairable and pro-consumer ownership
This needs to be mandatory due to its fragile nature.
Is it a HUD or just a spy tool?
I gotta wear glasses anyways so it'd be cool if I can get like a pathing over lay with maps and maybe customizable notifications.
But video calling and just taking poorly framed pictures isn't interesting.
Tech isn't fun anymore. Why do I want to act as a spy camera for big corporations
I'm mildly interested in the technology, but I sure as hell wouldn't go anywhere near Meta-branded anything. For starters, based on the demo, the product fucking sucks, but then there's also the privacy and fascism issues.
If they weren't a dystopian, privacy invading nightmare and had more actual useful features rather than awful AI, and weren't owned and controlled by an evil corporation, then I might be inclined to try them.
Absolutely fucking not. I have literally no interest in being more online. That sounds depressing.
I wanted a wearable computer with a head-mounted display real bad until the justified backlash against Google Glass ruined it for everyone.
This is a category of device that cannot be allowed to be implemented as a surveillance-capitalist product, only as Open Hardware.
Even open source, it should not happen. Nobody should have a camera on them that isn't identifiable as recording them. Phones are bad enough but at least you know where the camera is pointing. It's why I keep my phone parallel with the ground in public. Cameras on glasses should not exist in any way, shape or form because you can't know if it's recording you or not. And honestly I want nothing to do with a cyberpunk future.
I mean, pandora's box has already been pried open with a crowbar and the lid thrown into a woodchipper. Hidden cameras have been accessible to the mass public for almost a decade at this point.
At this point having a model that could be assembled and controlled by the end user means that the recorded data is within their possession. It might be for naught tho, as passerby could have their Meta lenses recording without any knowledge of the consequences.
But hey, now you can expose your workplace abuse with video evidence in court! XD
Remember Google Glass?
Same story here. Neat tech but no chance buddy
Not from Meta for sure.
And for all the people hating on these there are real world applications that could truly help folks. I’m very ADHD. My brain goes on tangents. I forget mid sentence what I was going to say. I have a terrible time remembering peoples names. These are all things this type of technology could help me with. But they would have to be implemented with the correct privacy guards in place. And I wouldn’t touch anything from Zuck with a 39 ½ foot pole.
These are valid reasons that I'd consider getting one for myself. But big tech says fuck accessibility, let's cram it full of bullshit instead. And that's on top of the privacy concerns that they seem focused on shoving under the rug rather than making it obvious if someone's using these.
Every idiot wearing this dystopian Stasi shit needs to be punched in the face.
I love the idea of smart glasses, and would happily buy them. However, it'd 1. Need to have 3rd party app support and 2. Be able to work without connecting to any tech company's servers. I've gotten used to my android phone that doesn't have google play services, and I'll never go back to having a device that phones home without my permission. In a perfect world I'd like to have some FOSS firmware and OS to run on them, but I'd be willing to go without as long as I could disable traffic to all major tech company servers.
Unfortunately these requirements will likely mean I won't be getting smart glasses any time soon
I kinda feel like big tech regrets that we got away with PCs running all foss software. The existence of GNU/Linux saved us in a way, I think some still try to lock us behind Windows I guess but Linux options are not going anywhere and they keep growing stronger I believe. However when it came to smartphones they tried so hard to keep them locked and far from what a natural computer would offer (running anything as long as your CPU architecture supports it). While Android phones got some freedom in the past I believe they're getting more closed and harder to tweak. Also I was there when iOS jailbreak peaked with all the crazy stuff (it was still hard to switch OS though). Fast forward to smart watches, now these are far more locked than phones and very limited in terms of freedom (even tho some run standars CPUs architectures). I think no way would big tech allow glasses to have freedom and they would make them close to what watches offer these days, maybe worse. I really believe that we should be able to run whatever the hell we want on hardware as long as it is technically possible.
Tl; dr: GNU/Linux saved the PC industry, corpos will not let that happen again with another industry.
I saw how impossible it was to actually take the WhatsApp call for Zuckerberg himself.
i'd buy glasses that would scramble the vision of smart glasses
IR blaster glasses with a toggle switch could be pretty easy to make with today's tech.
Never, and I would be offended if I noticed someone with them looking at me.
I have a strong use case. As a hearing aid and earpods. Regular in ear units never stay put and aren't comfortable. Once I find a set that is affordable and can take my prescription, (and meet the need) I'm in.
As long as there's no camera or recording ability, sure. But my VR screen and headphones are great but they don't record anything.
Unless it can connect to my own server, no.
Nope. I can wait for the chip implant to broadcast ads in my sleep.
Looks like we just found our new head of marketing boys! Tells us more about ads in people's sleep.
If the data it collects was only on my devices and I can customize the settings to collect what is ant when I want. But that will never happen. It can't be a tool I purchase and use solely for my benefit, the person who owns it. Fuck these tech fascistsnjunkies, I hope they all fucking die of cancer.
I'd love them, but like others have said, not if made by Meta, and not if they rely on sending all my data to cloud services to function.
There is NOTHING good from this tech that outweighs the bad.
No, even if it were open source, I don't want to normalize an instrument with such potential for privacy violations.
I straight up think people might start making EMPs in response to these. Image your doctor has them, would you feel safe?
... like surveillance cameras and phones? These are quality bad, no?
Haven't given too much thought to be fair. Taking video on the phone is much more obvious, while someone with camera glasses could make the excuse "I'm not recording!" and you'd be hard-pressed to prove it. For surveillance cameras, you could know where they are and evade, throw a rock, or drape something over them, whereas you'd have to go up and snatch the glasses off the wearer.
I also wouldn't be against it if it were used legitimately to help with a disability, or for specific tasks like a HUD with vitals, etc when doing surgery. But for general use, I'm not comfortable.
No, the one is fixed position part of some building and the other does not collect data on other people around it.
Yet.
Oh awesome can't wait to have my privacy invaded by every random yahoo dipshit tech bro fuckwad on the street with these bloody glasses. Love being recorded and logged for Zuckerberg's data wank bank.
Won't buy them, won't interact with people who have them. Will cut off friendships over this, no problem.
I would kinda like glasses that could display my heart rate and running pace, so I would not have to look at my watch.
Fuck no. I don't need to record my life to share it with the world. Even if people would be interested in it, why do I need to be sharing so much of my life.
From meta? Not a chance unless there's a way to completely free them from any meta related software.
Just because youtube reviewers say it is good, doesn't always mean that it is.
No
Literally the only thing I would want “smart” glasses to do is play videos or show messages from select apps. Ditch the shitty camera, don’t ever connect to an “AI” service, and for the love of god, don’t be made to lock into a big tech company..
Isn’t tech already creepy enough, how’s this going to make things better, I can see limited good uses cases as opposed to how it’s being used most of the time right now
I would love a pair of smart glasses to augment what I'm seeing... Give me context, keep me informed, allow me to monitor things closely, yet passively, and let me do it all inconspicuously and unobtrusively! Even better if it has eye tracking navigation.
Oh, and make sure the hardware and software are open source and self-hosted. If it has all of that I'm in, 100%.
Open source and self hosted doesn't protect others from you recording surreptitiously. You're totally understanding the problem.
Good point.
I also want my smart glasses to shine an IR light on my face to help protect my identity from others recording me.
I’m curious enough about Brilliant Halo to have preordered one, but my expectations are tempered. It’s a lot like what you described.
I don't think I want my face to be any more punchable than it already is
I would buy smart tech in the future but only once capitalism has disintegrated into a new world social order (i.e. the distant future) otherwise the motives of the tech company might be questionable and who knows what secret control crap they might add without your knowledge.
The use-cases that I see advertised are not things that I do in my day-to-day. I usually place my phone on a drawer or leave it in my backpack - I definitely don't want it on my face.
So, to me, smart glasses feel like an uncomfortable gimmick at this point. Maybe there is something amazing about them that has not yet clicked with me, but for the time being I don't see me buying one of these for the foreseeable future.
Depends which company makes them. Probably not
Hard pass
Made by Meta - hell no.
Made by someone else - possibly.
My main interests are navigation guidance on a HUD, real-time translation, and to a lesser degree teleprompting for speeches or presentations.
Wouldn't even really care if they had a camera or not - though what I've seen from the ones that do, being able to look at something that is in another language and ask it to translate it for you is pretty seriously cool. Can't imagine I'd use cameras for much else - but honestly with how uncomfortable they'd make everyone around me, I'd be quite willing to just forego them and pull out my phone to snap a pic and translate something that is text.
I was looking at the Even G1 pretty hard but then read some reviews that say the real-time translation is TERRIBLE, and to make it slightly less terrible you have to pay subscription fees, so I unsubscribed from their mailing list pretty quick.
Saw one on a Kickstarter recently that also piqued my interest, but they have cameras and were pretty bulky ... I may wait a generation or three for them to shrink down a bit more.
Camera, full color discreet display, and open source/*nix based? Yes, I would throw a couple grand down for that.
I know it would be cool but it's still fked up if everyone could film one another without even noticing
That seems to be the common complaint in this entire comment section. I believe this is something than could be regulated by the law maker. For example—as far as I've heard—phones must make a shutter sound when taking photos in Korea. A reasonable proposal would be to add a red light off to the side of the glasses that must blink if you are actively recording by law.
I'd rather strap my cell phone to my face.
Apparently, the Glasshole lesson was not learned.
I don't think there is a future in my country.
So many confidentiality violations with these. And if at the gym? Yikes. Hard no.
The park, the pool, parties, government and business areas, these things should never exist anywhere.
If my producer or I saw them on one's face, we'd rip them off and smash them unapologetically. We'd also call them out for potentially violating our privacy without realizing it.
ALWAYS SMASH GARGOYLES