Oppo Air Glass 3 might have achieved what Google Glass tried to be

Augmented Reality, or AR, is making a comeback, thanks to smart glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and even the Apple Vision Pro (though that’s more of a mixed reality headset that also merges in Virtual Reality). At MWC 2024, OPPO is showcasing a prototype of its OPPO Air Glass 3 “assisted reality” glasses, and it looks a lot like what the Google Glass would have eventually evolved into.

OPPO has been working on “assisted reality” glasses for some time now, and Air 3 is the third version they’re showing to the public. The big deal here is that these glasses can tap into OPPO’s AndesGPT model via a smartphone. This means the glasses can understand text, images, video, and audio to figure out complex user situations. You can use the AI features on the glasses by gently pressing on the temple of the glasses to activate the AI voice assistant.

The OPPO Air Glass 3 weighs 50g (compared to the 30g and 38g of the Air Glass and Air Glass 2, respectively). OPPO has developed a resin waveguide with a refractive index of 1.7 (which gets rid of rainbow effects), a display brightness uniformity of over 50%, and a peak eye brightness of over 1,000 nits. All together, the Air Glass 3 offers a wearing experience that’s almost like wearing regular glasses, while also providing a full-color display with automatic brightness adjustment.

The OPPO Air Glass 3 measures 164.84 x 164 x 48.4mm. It’s made with a magnesium-lithium alloy for the frame and PA nylon material for the temples. OPPO also intends to offer customized optical lenses for those who require them.

In addition to AI functions, the OPPO Air Glass 3 supports features such as music playback, voice calls, image browsing, information display, and more. Features like teleprompter, navigation, timer, translation, and quick previews for health and fitness information are expected to be added with future software updates. It connects with OPPO smartphones running Color OS 13 and above using the Air Glass app.

Ultimately, the OPPO Air Glass 3 is still just a prototype. The previous versions also didn’t become available for purchase worldwide, and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change with the Air Glass 3. However, it’s encouraging to see other companies constantly pushing the envelope in areas like smart glasses, and we can be hopeful about their debut in the future once the product is refined.