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Discover the latest trends on-the-go. This is a quick topic recap of one of the five biggest AR/VR trends in Feb identified by SparkAmplify. Below is a recap of Samsung’s plans for its own AR glasses, a trend that has been popular among tech companies. For more information on SparkAmplify’s monthly AR/VR topic analysis, please visit: https://www.sparkamplab.com/
Latest Development: As of May 2021, Samsung has been granted a design patent for its AR glasses, revealing sketches of the expected glasses. Furthermore, Patently Apple has speculated that Samsung’s partnership with Google for a smartwatch may continue through the development of smart glasses, which would be a huge advantage in the race for AR glasses.
Why It Matters: Ever since Apple and Facebook have announced their plans for augmented reality glasses, other tech giants like Samsung have been eager to jump in on the action. With each company racing to release the best AR gadgets, tech enthusiasts can expect many options.
Details: Apple, Facebook, and perhaps Microsoft are all continuing to work on developing ARVR wearable gadgets -namely smartglasses-, and Samsung is not one to miss out on the action. In February 2021, two concept videos of Samsung’s AR glasses were leaked by the popular Twitter account “WalkingCat”.
The first of the videos feature “Samsung Glasses Lite”. As the “lite” version, these smartglasses may be intended for casual media consumption according to Road to VR. The short video shows the product being used to reply to emails, take video calls, and even play video games on the giant projected virtual screen. Unique to Samsung is the glasses’ sunglasses mode in which the AR screens are hidden and the shades are tint to adjust to ambient lighting. Samsung Glasses Lite is to be used in conjunction with a Samsung smartwatch to control some functions, a feature described as “Integrated Control” in the video.
The second video shows Samsung AR Glasses, a more expansive version of the Glasses Lite. Unlike the former, these smartglasses are able to project 3D images and allow users to interact with and manipulate virtual objects. The video shows off three examples of how the AR Glasses can be used: a completely virtual office without even needing a physical keyboard, holo calls, and AR simulation of virtual spaces. Furthermore, the AR Glasses seem to be “responsive to hand and arm gestures”, meaning that this model does not apparently require additional devices. According to many sources, Samsung AR Glasses bear a resemblance to Microsoft’s Hololens mixed reality glasses.
What to Watch For: These leaked concept videos show that yet again, tech giants Samsung and Apple are competing to dominate the consumer market, this time with the development of ARVR headsets. Samsung Glasses Lite and Samsung AR Glasses are expected to rival similar products that Apple may release in the future. While we may not see AR glasses out on the consumer market this year, they show the incredible technological feats of this century and the future of technology as a whole.