One of the biggest questions we get from our readers about Google Glass, is when will prescription lens be supported. The other is when it will be released to everyone. Well the folks at Rochester Optical has come up with the pricing and they are set to bring custom lenses to Glass frames starting at $99. What’s even more exciting is that pre-orders will start “shortly after” CES, which ends January 10th.
Just last week, Rochester sent out a questionnaire last week, which was their attempt at gauging what users would be looking for in custom lenses. Users were also asked about materials, tinting and all manner of options we’d get with normal lenses at an optometrist. Additionally, users were also given the option to choose the shape of the lenses, making for a truly unique experience.
Google has already committed to bring prescriptions to Glass, but there’s is a completely different process. For Google, the tech will be moved to another frame, which has it’s own set of give and take. On one hand, we get the frames we may want for daily use. On the other, it might be best to simply bring customization to Glass, rather than tech to existing eyewear. So far Rochester hasn’t made it clear how their lenses will sit with Glass. Their representatives have noted a “lens carrier/frames” assembly, but offered no additional details. They could simply create a prescription version of the clear shield which comes with Glass, or have another method altogether. The mock-up which is shown at the beginning of this post, shows the lens sitting in the Glass frame, but that’s not something that can easily be done with Glass. So we are still going to have to see how this is going to work.
So it looks like we’ll have prescription lenses in Google Glass soon. From both Google and other retailers. Hopefully Google will release Glass to everyone shortly.