Quration 14: Am I seeing things, or have glasses become the next big thing?
Friday, 20th November 2020
Each day I wade through the chaos of news to find stand-out stories and create short summaries for my followers.
đď¸ LISTEN to the podcastâď¸ or READ the newsletterđ
In today's edition, I look at the 13th Century innovation that has recently become the next big thing - glasses!
Am I seeing things, or have glasses become the next big thing?
Are you one of the 4 billion people across the globe that wears glasses? If not, you are seriously missing out. Glasses are the next big thing!
First manufactured in Italy, probably in Venice, glasses arrived toward the end of the 13th Century. 800 years later, and the design is still reminiscent of the original wooden frames with glass lenses. But all that is about to change.
The Four Horsemen of Technology - Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are all rushing to take territory in the Great Spectacle War of 2021. Each of them is producing tech-enabled glasses that will keep them top-of-mind for their customers. Out of sight, out of mind!
And while the Four Horsemen of the bible represented Conquest, War, Famine, and Death, the Tech Horsemen present us with Gimmick, Convenience, Consumerism and Health.
Let's take a look at the contenders and how we think they'll fare in the battle ahead.
Facebook is the pale rider on a horse named Gimmick.
In the opening keynote of the Facebook Connect Conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook intends to launch its first pair of "smart glasses" in 2021.
Wide-spread rumors that Facebook would partner with an Italian eyewear brand have since been confirmed with the announcement that Ray-Ban will assist the company to design frames for a range of consumer glasses.
Reports suggest that the key focus will be on "[giving] people better ways to connect with those closest to them". In addition, Facebook is developing a product called Live Maps that will leverage Augmented Reality (AR) to blend virtual and real, creating a next-generation mapping system.
I can't see Facebook Glasses being much more than a gimmick. Facebook's core competency revolves around using algorithms to push pixels around a page. It's a long way from designing and delivering premium physical products. When it comes to augmented maps, their ownership of Oculus gives them the edge on AR, but the hard yards of creating a mapping solution is a next-level challenge. Apple took years to improve their maps, and still hasnât closed the gap to catch Google. If anyone has the potential to leapfrog them all to create next-generation mapping, itâs probably Tesla. I canât see how Facebook expects to win in that space.
Competency, tech and competition aside, Facebook has an ever bigger hurdle to overcome. Trust. Their brand is struggling, with consumers, the market and even its own employees. I can see consumers clambering for wearable spywear.
Verdict: Facebook Glasses will be less trusted, less useful and less beautiful than its competitors. Last place.
You canât beat Google when it comes to convenience.
You may be feeling a sense of deja vu, because the original Google Glass device went on sale for $1,500 six years ago! Dead shortly after arrival, itâs an understatement to say they werenât well received. As a consumer-focused product, the price was way too high and cast as a vivid example of silicon valley decadence. Importantly, the use case for the glasses wasnât clear. Why would I wear them?
While Google was chasing the consumer market the first time around, Microsoft fixed its attention on the 2 billion blue-collar workers with internet access. Microsoft HoloLens blends digital imagery with the real world, allowing workers to seamlessly get directions, read diagrams, and scan barcodes.
After sales of the original Google Glass were halted and the product shelved, they too found a second life as an industrial product. And now, Google is making its latest augmented reality headset, Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, available to consumers.
The most interesting application so far is the Envision Glasses - AI-powered smart glasses that empower the blind and visually impaired by giving a near-to-real experience to the users by describing the surroundings aloud to them.
For the general market, the reason we put up with all the ads and continue to use all of Googleâs services is because of the convenience. The products work. They are all integrated. So much of our lives are held by Google: search history; stored content; saved locations; years of emails; dozens of calendars. It all stacks together and works.
As developers build new apps that work on Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, and more of use start using them at work, it will make more and more sense to benefit from them outside of work too.
Verdict: Google Glass wonât be sexy, but theyâll be useful and super convenient. And convenience usually trumps all else.
Amazon adds one more path to the consumer.
âTake Alexa with youâ is the big pitch for Amazonâs Echo Frames, and it tells you all you need to know about these glasses. Theyâre made for hard-core Alexa users. The features are extremely limited. You can speak to Alexa, and get audio responses discretely to your ear.
Use cases that jump to mind are asking Alexa about the weather, or listening to a podcast or Amazon Music. Unless Iâm missing something, all of these things are already possible with an Alexa app on your phone. And I canât think of anyone I know that doesnât own headphones that would have far superior sound to a pair of glasses.
Another major limitation is the one-design-fits-all glasses. Thatâs not completely fair. Apparently the Echo Frames also come in three new colors: modern tortoise, horizon blue and classic black! Unless you are one of the few people that keeps a running conversation with Alexa, I donât get it.
The latest iteration of the Echo Frames will prioritise notifications from selected apps and contacts, and will show alerts for calendar events and group messages. But you still need to be tethered to your mobile phone for connectivity. To rub salt into the wound, the frames come with clear lenses, so you will have to pick up your own prescription.
Verdict: I canât believe Amazon is so wide of the mark here.
Apple Glasses will make you look better and live a longer, happier life.
Full disclosure: I like Apple products. And I generally have great expectations of their new releases. For good reason. Airpods are beyond all other wireless competitors. The iPhone remains the industry standard. Appleâs new microchip has delivered a step change to performance. And I expect the same from Apple Glasses.
Thereâs little more than rumor when it comes to the details of Appleâs foray into glasses. Launching in 2021, with information displayed on both lenses, equipped with LIDAR and responsive to gesture controls. Most interesting to me is Appleâs focus on health.
"...if you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, âWhat was Appleâs greatest contribution to mankind,â it will be about health."
-Â Apple CEO, Tim Cook
The iPhone Health app is already the central repository for everything you can measure. The Watch already tracks sleep, heart rate, heart rhythm, blood oxygen levels, hand washing, menstrual cycle, exercise, vO2 max, noise exposure, air quality, and fall detection.
Apple Glasses will watch every breath you take, scan every inch of your body for abnormalities, and track your brainwaves. Oh, and you can use their maps and search the internet.
Verdict: Expect a revolution to the design and function of glasses that will set the direction for the next 800 years.
If you'd like to see more of what I'm exploring, you can follow me on twitter. If you've come across something you think I'd like, hit reply and let me know why it's worth checking out (articles, lectures, podcasts, books, exhibitions⌠whatever).