News: Rokid's New Smartglasses Mirror Content from Smartphones, Desktops, & Consoles to Virtual Screens

After receiving $100 million in funding in 2018, smartglasses maker Rokid is going the crowdfunding route to finance its latest product.

On Tuesday, Rokid launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Rokid Air, AR smartglasses that serve as a virtual display by tethering not only to Android smartphones but also iPhones, iPads, desktop computers, and gaming consoles.

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Weighing in at just 90 grams, the smartglasses include twin 4K displays and a BirdBath optical engine, which are capable of 43 degrees field of view (or the equivalent of a 120-inch display), 1800 nits brightness, and 75 Hz refresh rate. The device carries two high-definition directional speakers, a USB-C port for connectivity, and an array of sensors to detect movement, orientation, and proximity.

Similar to Lenovo's ThinkReality A3 smartglasses, Rokid Air uses the attached smartphone as a controller for the smartglasses, with multi-touch gestures enabling uses to navigate through the user interface.

And, in a neat trick benefiting the nearsighted, Rokid Air includes focus adjustment knobs that can correct vision (at myopia of -5.00 D or less), possibly avoiding the need to wear glasses when viewing content through the smartglasses.

While the suggested retail price for Rokid Air is $499, Kickstarter backers can pocket the smartglasses in Ruby Red or Starry Gray for as low as $319, with shipping slated for Nov. 2021. The campaign has already blown past its initial goal of $20,000 to fund the project.

With an attractive price and flexibility in connecting to a wide range of devices (though third-party accessories are necessary to connect to devices without a USB-C port), Rokid Air has the potential to serve as a stepping stone towards the mainstreaming of AR smartglasses through its limited functionality of mirroring content from smaller physical screens to larger virtual screens. However, lacking a camera to view its surroundings is a non-starter in terms of real spatial computing.