whatbrentsay
2/24
Wearable augmented reality devices are coming and Samsung will likely be among the first to get a device into the hands of early adopting consumers. Twitter user @WalkingCat tweeted two very interesting videos over the weekend, both apparent leaks of AR glasses from Samsung. I can't comment on @WalkingCat's credibility but let's dive in anyway.
The first video:
And the second video:
My immediate reaction to these videos was "these look close to actual products." Samsung presents a coherent vision of AR in both—one for consumers and one for employees. I'm going to focus on the first video because the second is much more aspirational. As bullish as I am on AR, I guarantee Samsung will not be able to deliver an experience like most of what's seen in the second video with a first generation product.
The first video shows off the following use cases: playing a game on a virtual screen, using a secondary device as an input method, watching video entertainment on a virtual screen, using another virtual screen as you would a computer monitor (specifically for Samsung's Dex desktop environment), a video call, dimming the lenses via a sunglasses mode, and supplementing a drone piloting experience with a virtual HUD. Most of these examples fall into a single category—giving users a private, virtual screen they can use to interact with digital content.
Virtual screens are the most straightforward and easiest to market feature a wearable AR device can deliver and leading with it is a fine start for convincing people they might want such a device. The challenge here will be resolution, field of view, and contrast. In order to be a more compelling screen than a TV or monitor, picture quality will need to be high. Considering how close these screens are to the eye I'd suspect a 1440p - 2K-ish image (per eye) would be required, at minimum, to be tempting more often than a traditional screen. A clear benefit of a virtual screen is that it can be as large as you want, up to the limits of the screens' field of view. Field of view is a known limitation of early AR products like the Hololens and Magic Leap, and will need to improve noticeably for AR experiences to eventually become highly immersive. Focusing on and getting virtual screens right could soften the blow of not being able to display virtual objects in your entire field of view on day one.
I'm surprised Samsung only included one HUD-style example in their consumer concept—and a fairly niche one at that. There's an array of promising use cases here like AR walking directions, unobtrusive/passive notifications, informational AR widgets (ex: steps taken, weather, next calendar event, etc). I can only speculate as to why they didn't show any of this but if I had to give a single answer I'd point to field of view (again). In order for an AR HUD UI to be most useful it would have to keep the central part of your vision unobstructed; the value is in enhancing what you're seeing and experiencing in real life with data you couldn't have otherwise. If field of view is limited, the only place to put those UI elements would be near the center of one's vision thus nullifying their benefit.
Moving away from the software concepts shown, the hardware looks surprisingly believable for what I would expect is possible in 2021. The following frame from the video offers an honest look at what the limitations of this particular hardware may be.
I've highlighted what appears to be a part of the lens/display that doesn't fit into the frame on the right in pink. It reminds me of the flat tire display concession of early circular Android smartwatches. In green, I've highlighted what could be a hint of the display field of view. This could be physical confirmation of the kind of limitations I mentioned earlier. We'll see but first gen products can only give so much; it is known. From a design perspective, Samsung looks to have made a pair of thick but mostly unassuming frames that don't scream "this is a tech product" like Google Glass did. In time these components will get smaller and smart glasses will become increasingly difficult to pick out from the dumber ones.
Overall, I'm excited by this leak. Do I think Samsung is going to blow everyone away with the first product(s) these concepts eventually become? Not particularly. They have a habit of taking risks with new products and either underdelivering or outright failing in public if it means they can carve out early market share. That last part is important in this case, however. I have no doubt that Samsung will be one of the first—if not the first—to offer a representative glimpse of what the future of consumer wearable AR devices will be. I have my doubts around how compelling they can make their offering, especially when it comes to software and device interoperability, but seeing a product like this from a big player like Samsung means we're getting close to wearing computers on our faces. As someone who hated wearing glasses enough to let an ophthalmologist shoot lasers into my corneas, I look forward to feeling like I need to put something like this on.