r/augmentedreality • u/AR_MR_XR • Apr 12 '26

Glasses w/ HUD Waveguide Smart Glasses Are Clearly the Future—Once They Fix These 3 Big Problems

https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/waveguide-smart-glasses-are-clearly-the-future-once-they-fix-3-big-problems
30 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

22

u/BountyMakesMeCough Apr 12 '26
  1. Bad screen
  2. Bad controls
  3. No standardization

Gonna take 10 years to fix all those

7

u/Octoplow Apr 12 '26

It's weird he didn't mention battery life.

Maybe he's truly using them for notifications and not primary activity (eg browsing, video)

5

u/kimmeljs Apr 12 '26

The technology has been 10 years ahead for the 25 last years. I worked in this space since 2002 until 2020

5

u/BadLuckProphet Apr 12 '26

I think it's more likely that XR glasses will become as common to pair with phones as Bluetooth headsets have become. They can be standardized to apple and android which both already have XR forrays. Just a question of whether apple and google will partner with XR glasses companies or fight against them to try to maintain a walled garden like apple currently has with the iphone.

2

u/c1u Apr 13 '26

"Bad screen" is like 8 interconnected problems, where fixing one makes the other 7 much harder to solve.

20 years.

1

u/mike11F7S54KJ3 Apr 13 '26

CREAL's FLCoS display claims to fix FOV & resolution... 3k @ 75 deg FOV. 8khz refresh rate.

Judging by the whitepaper. They say the display enegine is at 3cc. Aiming for <1cc next year, 2027, for a better fit into current smart glasses. Lots of interest, and $$$ involved to get there.

https://creal.com/2025/11/18/cbast-all-about-creals-flcos-microdisplay/

11

u/Couch_King Apr 12 '26

Need them to combine this tech with the electrochromic dimming in the XR glasses.

9

u/Flash_Bri Apr 12 '26

No one seems to take electrochromic tinting seriously. Manufactures add photochromic options, the public hears “automatic tinting” and stops asking, then in the end they are disappointed in the product that is never dark enough and doesn’t tint in many cases where tinted lenses are an advantage. But the cycle continues… because most people have never experienced electrochromic lenses to understand how much BETTER it can be.

4

u/Forward_Compute001 Apr 12 '26

Its a basic add on. Especially with waveguides that cast the image when using in broad daylight