Will smart glasses be the next ubiquitous device in personal tech?

The race to determine the next dominant personal device after the smartphone is heating up, with smart glasses emerging as the most promising contender. Tech giants like Meta and Google are actively investing in the space.

Updated Meta smart glasses are seen during the Meta Connect event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 27, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The race to determine the next dominant personal device after the smartphone is heating up, with smart glasses emerging as the most promising contender. Tech giants like Meta and Google are actively investing in the space, touting smart glasses as the future of computing.

Smart glasses are equipped with cameras and microphones that enable real-time multimodal data collection — capturing both visuals and audio — making them ideal for running AI applications. This allows for use in cases such as instantly translating documents in a user’s field of vision or projecting augmented reality navigation on the go.

Nick Chow, director at Altos Ventures, explained that because smart glasses continuously collect input from several sources, they can deliver rapid output like sound or subtle visual signals. This enables them to offer services and context more closely aligned with the real world than apps limited to smartphones or computers, he said.

However, major hurdles remain, including clunky designs, short battery life — averaging about four hours — heat issues and in particular, privacy concerns related to covert recording.

Wrist-worn devices, on the other hand, draw less attention: Smartwatches are more naturally accepted and often serve both as health monitors and digital assistants.

Bee, an AI wearables startup acquired by Amazon, promotes a bracelet that acts as an "always-on" assistant, boasting a battery life of up to seven days. Still, the lack of a camera limits the device’s ability to process visual data, making it an unlikely replacement for smartphones.

The Limitless AI pendant device can be worn like a necklace or clipped onto clothing. When paired with the Limitless app, it records audio and uses AI to generate summaries. [HONG SANG-JI]

Pendant-style devices are small and lightweight, allowing them to double as fashion accessories. One such product by Limitless AI — a startup backed by prominent U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz — records and organizes conversations to enhance memory recall. However, other pendant devices like Humane’s AI Pin have failed due to overheating, short battery life and high prices.

Ring-shaped devices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Ring and Finland-based Oura Health’s Oura Ring, are designed to fit snugly around a finger and tend to focus on health monitoring.

Korean startup Vtouch developed the Wizpr Ring, which allows users to whisper commands directly into the ring’s microphone — a discreet feature suited to public settings. But due to space constraints, such rings are unlikely to serve as stand-alone devices and will probably remain supplementary tools.

The JoongAng Ilbo tested the Limitless AI pendant for several days. The coin-sized device can be clipped onto clothing or worn around the neck. When synced with a smartphone and set to “listening” mode via its app, it recorded every conversation throughout the day — from a 30-minute phone interview to a brief call about a pet cat. In the app’s “Lifelog” tab, conversations were organized chronologically, with Korean dialogues transcribed and summarized in English, while also providing the full text.

The app’s "Ask" feature could then search this data for relevant information. When the reporter typed in English, "Find me the part where the interviewee talks about why there's a hardware race between Big Tech firms," the app pulled up the corresponding transcript instantly — it was like having a personal assistant documenting the entire day.

Abbott's Lingo wearable device for continuous glucose monitoring [ABBOTT]

However, the device's constant recording also raised concerns. It captured even casual exchanges at restaurants or YouTube videos playing in the background, requiring users to seek consent from people nearby. When worn around the neck, the device drew suspicion rather than admiration. One acquaintance remarked that the device resembled a body camera — underscoring how convenience may come at the cost of unresolved privacy concerns.

Why is Big Tech so eager to usher in the post-smartphone era? Smartphone shipments peaked in 2017 and have since plateaued, with innovation slowing and replacement cycles lengthening. Meanwhile, AI is challenging the dominance of touchscreen-based graphical user interfaces. As voice-based interaction becomes more prevalent, new hardware is needed.

"In the past, Big Tech lacked an economic rationale for creating new devices," said Kim Jae-hyeok, CEO of LetinAR, a startup developing optical lenses for augmented reality smart glasses. "But with AI rapidly advancing and smartphones past their prime, it’s now crucial to secure the lead in next-generation AI devices."

The Wizpr Ring, developed by AI startup Vtouch, is a voice-input smart ring that allows users to interact with AI by speaking close to it. [HONG SANG-JI]

Major players are already making moves. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said on his blog that smart glasses will become the primary computing device of the future.

Google, which once exited the smart glasses market, unveiled a new prototype at this year’s I/O developer conference. The prototype features a small display embedded in the right lens, which responds to voice queries by displaying answers on-screen.

OpenAI has acquired io, a startup founded by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive to develop a screenless AI-dedicated device. Even Apple, which revolutionized mobile computing, is reportedly working on smart glasses and desktop robots, following the launch of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

Still, experts agree that smartphones won’t lose their central role anytime soon. Most users prefer a single interface to manage multiple devices, meaning smartphones will likely remain the central controller in a multidevice ecosystem.

The Bee Pioneer, developed by wearable AI device startup Bee, records voice input and uses it to generate to-do lists, summaries and personalized insights. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

"Devices like Humane’s AI Pin and Rabbit’s R1 failed not just because of performance issues, but because they relied on independent operating systems," said Vtouch CEO Kim Seok-joong. "For now, a future where smartphones coexist with various smart devices in a shared ecosystem seems the most realistic."

Resolving privacy issues is also critical. While companies promise users can delete data at any time, how personal information is stored and used remains a source of anxiety.

"Similar concerns surfaced when smartphones were first introduced," said an official at a Korean IT company. "These are growing pains that should be addressed as the technology matures."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HONG SANG-JI [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]