Soooo... here we are again. Another pair of smart glasses. I know.
I had basically written off paying attention to anything new in this space because lets be real, most of it has been disappointing. You get excited, you spend the money, and something about it just does not work the way it should. I returned the last pair I tried. Did not even think twice about it.
But I kept seeing stuff about the Rokid Styles pop up and eventually I gave in and started actually looking into them. Rokid has been around since 2014, they are not some company that just decided glasses were a cool idea last month. They have been doing AR wearables long enough to have figured some things out, and three million dollars on Kickstarter suggests other people think so too.
What pushed me to actually order them was the navigation. That is the thing nobody else is doing. You tell these glasses where you want to go and they give you turn by turn directions through the earpiece. Walking, biking, driving.
They also do the AI stuff, look and tell, translation, calls, reminders. You already know what all that is so I am not going to go through the whole list. The one thing I will flag is that they can record audio and the companion app can transcribe it or summarize it. Useful for meetings, appointments, anything like that. How accessible the app actually is I cannot tell you yet. That is the first thing I am testing when they show up.
Battery is around twelve hours according to what I have read. The case that comes in the box is not a charging case, you buy that separately, which yes is a little annoying but not the end of the world. The glasses are as of right now three hundred dollars. From what I've read, you also get to pick your AI, Google, ChatGPT and I think a few others.
Rokid also has something on their website for blind and disabled users, a twenty dollar voucher with basic verification. Small thing but it means something that they put it there.
My pair is on the way. I could not find a single review from a blind person yet which is a big part of why I am writing this. When they arrive I will tell you exactly how they perform.
Cheers!
Comments
YouTube guide
Hereās the best YouTube video guide I could find on these glasses.
https://youtu.be/jTaZjHAWWA4?si=szKBN7iQdGo-OpCc
Well this is actually interesting
I stopped reading reviews after meta rayBands for the exact reasons you described.
Let's see how's this one.
Let us know
These sound promising, let us know if they're good
Navigation
Is interesting, but I don't know if this kind of turn-by-turn directions, if I understand it correctly, will be any different from using Google Maps with an open ear headset. What I'd really want is a navigation system that combines the map data with the visual info that the camera captures.
@ Gokul
I agree 100%. Thatās definitely the dream. Without having them tested yet, the only difference really is that you can access map directions and get turned by turn directions without ever pulling out your phone, which is handy for me because I do like to travel and a lot of the time my hands are full of stuff. Now, if they do more than that, Iām definitely gonna be pleasantly surprised. I really canāt speak to them as I havenāt used them yet but Iāll let you know š.
What I would love to see
Of all of the innovations in Smart glasses, something I would really love to see added to a pair of smart glasses, would be a simple compass. I'm not talking about GPS, although that is pretty cool, I'm not talking about turn by turn navigation, or an audio map or anything like that. Just a simple no nonsense compass. It could be something that announces your direction every so many feet, or simply tells you which direction you're facing with a hotkey or even a gesture command.
@ Brian
Right? My ONM skills are fantastic, but for the life of me, I could never tell whether Iām facing north south east or westā¦ I only understand right, left, forward and turn around lol.
Any direct link
Hi,
Anyone have a link direct to the glasses? Doing a google search in the UK all I can find is ones with a display which isn't what these have and they are Ā£589 so can't be the same thing. Can find absolutely no links for these without a display.
@ Lee
Here is the link:
https://global.rokid.com/products/rokid-ai-glasses-style?srsltid=AfmBOorW2S5bZYcHYgaaOfT11TwABv5SSrOWZjuLygoInh_8VBvppeHj
Another thing
Another thing that sets these glasses apart is that you can customize the touch panel on the side to trigger specific ChatGPT prompts. Certain gestures can automatically send different prompts without you having to say anything. For example, if you tap the touchpad with two fingers and hold it, it can instantly send a prompt asking whatās in front of you and start describing the scene.
So these sound like they may have potential
Really itching for a demonstration of these, whether it be via YouTube or another platform...
@ Brian
I can do that for you once I get them :).
Custom prompts
That's cool! could be so useful not shouting out stuff all the time.
Gokul
I've got a funny story for you, regarding what you said in your post above.
So, for context purposes, I live in a high-rise apartment building. I am on the third floor of said building, and one day I was standing at the elevators, waiting for the elevator to arrive so that I can get on and go down to the lobby. There was another guy there as well, and while I was there, I was on the phone. I was, of course, using my Meta's, and talking to a friend of mine. The friend who was in fact downstairs waiting to pick me up. However I was trying to talk quietly, Because I didn't really want anyone else to hear my conversation. So the other person who's standing at the elevator moves up next to me and leans over and whispers very quietly, "Hey man, are you talking to yourself?"
I laughed, and then I said, "No actually, I'm talking to my friend on my smart glasses. She is downstairs, waiting to take me to an appointment."
Needless to say, it would be nice to not always be caught talking to your smart glasses where others can hear you. š
@ Brian
Omg you should have said yes haha.
I have the Rokid display glasses.
So I backed them on Kickstarter and I have the version with the display. I had high hopes for these glasses.
The pros:
They are lightweight and comfortable, you can use ChatGPT and when you ask a question, it is very similar to a Be My Eyes response, very detailed. The navigation works pretty good, you just tell it where you want to go and basically it launches Google Maps and you hear everything through your glasses. The recording with the transcription and summary work really well. The app is mostly accessible, Iād say about 90%, there are a few things you canāt access on it though like brightness and volume, but those are on the display glasses. There are a lot of camera options like being able to shoot in widescreen as opposed to vertical and you have up to a 10 minute recording time which can be extended to unlimited if you use the capsule battery or plug it into a power bank while wearing the glasses.
Cons:
The speakers arenāt as good as the Meta Ray-Ban speakers. When you ask it to describe whatās in front of you, it does take about 8 to 10 seconds to get a result there is no live AI feature yet although customer service tells me that there is a beta, but it is not on my glasses here in the US. The people at customer service are morons and they donāt understand what youāre telling them, I guess theyāre translation app doesnāt work too well. There are only two voices and not a lot of customization other than speed adjustment.
Major cons specific to the display glasses:
The way you adjust volume is to select volume in a menu on the display, which volume should never be buried in a menu. I emailed them a suggestion to add a two finger swipe forward and back for volume so that we can use it without going through a menu, it hasnāt happened. The menu system does not have a screen reader. The smart eye app which describes everything that it sees has been promised, but is not out yet, nor is the live AI feature every day, I grabbed the glasses to see if thereās an update to finally give me the features that I want but they never come. Itās been pretty disappointing. I will let you guys know once I get the live AI and smart eye app, and then my opinion will hopefully change.
@ Esan
Thatās super interesting! The ones that Iām talking about the style donāt have the displays so I wonder if thatās going to be a different and more user-friendly experience. Hereās to hoping lol.
Update
Donāt worry yawl, I havenāt forgotten. After a big shipping delay the glasses should be here tomorrow.
OK, they are here!
Okay so Iāve had these for a few hours now and I need to talk about them.
First though, the wait. It took a month. A full month. Customer service is basically a ghost, so somewhere around week three I started genuinely wondering if Iād just thrown $299 into the void. When the package finally showed up I was relieved before I was even excited.
Then I put them on.
These things are light. I donāt mean āoh thatās not badā light, I mean lighter than I expected in a way that actually caught me off guard. I wear the Meta glasses daily and the Rokid Styles are wayyy more comfortable. Thatās not a small thing when youāre talking about something living on your face all day lol.
Thereās no power button. Fold the arms and they turn off, unfold them and they turn on. I like this more than I thought I would.
The app has a couple of rough edges on setup, you might need to enable screen recognition to get through the initial configuration ā but once youāre past that I havenāt had to touch it again. Minor inconvenience, but not a dealbreaker for me.
Battery life has been solid. A Few hours of use and Iām still above 80%. Documentation says up to 12 hours.
Now. The AI. Scene descriptions are phenomenally well done ā genuinely impressive, not just passable. I also held up a book and asked it to read a page to me. When the full page was in frame it read the whole thing. When part of the page was cut off it told me exactly what it missed but still gave me enough to understand what was on that page. You prompt it each time rather than getting live feedback, but it works phenomenally well.
Google Maps integration means I can start and stop navigation without ever touching my phone. Hands completely free. I havenāt stress-tested it yet but what Iāve tried has been smooth.
Nod to answer a call. Shake your head to ignore one.
I havenāt touched the translation or note features yet. But Iām already thinking about selling my Meta glasses.
Charging cord is included, no case in the box but you can buy one separately. The plug is discreet enough that connecting a power bank while youāre out isnāt awkward at all. Not a dealbreaker.
$299 USD. Slow shipping, near-invisible customer support, a couple of bumps on setup. The glasses themselves though ā yeah, Iām impressed.
These are just my initial impressions, I will do a more thorough review later.
This is interesting.
especially at the price point. could you perhaps do a demo?
A Demo Please
That is really impressive. We now have another choice of smart glasses. Could you please do a demo?
Re: demo
I can most certainly try. Iām just not sure how I could get the audio from the glasses so yawl can hear it. Do yawl have any ideas on that front?
Recording smart glasses
if you can find something like one of those little clip on microphones, that can connect to your iPhone, or to a digital recorder, you might have a shot recording it that way.
Just a thought.
BT Speakers?
Can the glasses be paired to some sort of BT speaker and you will get it loud enough to appear in the demo? Not sure if this is possible.
Impressed each day
So each time I use these glasses each day, they impressed me more and more. Iām now playing around with the custom prompt feature for the two finger hold and I got a nice long prompt in there where it will read a book to me. You have a 300 character limit for the prompt so itās very customizable. Of course sometimes it might miss a word or a few dependent on lighting, the spine of the book, how flat it is etc but I for the first time read thru several chapters of a print book. Iām still working on figuring out how to do an audio demonstration. Hopefully that will be coming soon.
Just something I found
So it looks like people have been building apps for these as well and they publish the programs on gitthub. Havenāt learned to use that website yet myself but apparently thereās also an App Store already for the glasses. I think one is coming soon for the styles anyways but this looks coolā¦ We might be able to come bartenders with these lol.
https://www.reddit.com/r/augmentedreality/s/WzSxHAy31f
Audio demo
OK folks, here is my rough audio demo of the Rokid styles glasses and also did a side-by-side comparison of the metas as well.
This was uber rough as Iāve never done an audio review before lol. I may have missed some thingsā¦ the review is not perfect, it is me freestiling this thing lol so no judgements haha.
https://1drv.ms/u/c/c0bea78b5c1b00b3/IQAN5-sdB90BRYHwYudC3GhdAeYsoZn_f_Xf5jHfIBVpEM8
Great review and demo
Just one thing for transparency sake, with Meta smart glasses, you can use your voice to answer or decline calls as well. Just wanted to give a heads up on that. š
Otherwise, The Rokid Styles seem like a great alternative to the Meta smart glasses. š
@ Brian
Oh absolutely. You can definitely do that. I just wanted to really bring home the idea that you donāt have to touch your glasses or say anything to your glasses to answer the calls. All you do is nod your head to answer or shake your head to decline. Itās super quick too! I also really love that two finger tap and hold gesture being customizable. I actually now have it doing multiple things. Hereās one of the prompts I use:
Read all text in frame. Book: left page first, right page second. Only read when every word is fully visible ā if anything is cut off, tell me exactly whatās missing and how to reposition. No filler phrases. No book: describe the scene.
Thanks so much. I was so tired doing this lol.
couple quick questions
That was a wonderful review, Stephen! Wanted to just clarify a couple things: is the number of custom gestures with prompts limitted? or can you set such multiple custom gestures? Also, just for the sake of clarity, you can ask these glasses follow-up questions, right?
@ Gokul
Thanks so much. There is one gesture that is customizable which is the two finger tap and hold however it can do multiple things provided your entire prompt fits within the 300 character limit. Also yes you can ask follow-up questions but I think it does another snapshot if it is something visual.
these glasses in the uk?
Can these glasses be purchased directly in the Uk?
now if scribeMe and AIRA work on these we have more choice!
A Question
I am considering buying these over the Meta Rayban glasses. I checked their site and found they have various models, so which of Rokid glasses have the classic look?
@ Maldalain
The glasses you are is called:
Rokid styles
They are the ones that were released at the end of last year/beginning of this year
@ Karok
Iām pretty sure you can purchase them there.
As for other apps like ScribeMe, iām pretty sure theyāve released the SDK kit a while ago so itās really up to the developers if they want to put their apps on the glasses or not. Donāt quote me, but I am pretty sure that I saw the SDK kit online.