In November, GlassesUSA.com revealed its new Revel Tune Smart Audio Glasses. These glasses signify a return to the exciting development of personal technology.
Over the past few years, it has felt like the evolution of personal technology has plateaued a little. New smartphones are barely different from the old ones, and this is true of laptops as well. This is surprising, especially because it recently seemed like we were heading in an entirely new direction: wearables.
The first Fitbits and smartwatches came with a lot of promise. Not because of what they could do at launch but because of the massive potentials of wearable technology. While watch-like devices were primarily health-centric, it looked like they would go on to become so much more.
The reasoning is sound. Smart devices have become so useful and intuitive, that the next step is surely better integration into our lifestyles. Without the perils of a “cyborg” generation, wearable technology could do just that.
However, that hasn’t quite panned out. Smartwatches are still primarily fitness devices, and most day-to-day functionality happens on rectangular screens of various sizes.
Innovations like GlassesUSA.com’s Revel Tune smart audio glasses, a mass-market wearable, bring us back to the excitement of that moment. Here’s how it works and why it is so futuristic.
What do audio glasses do?
If you’re wondering what audio glasses possibly do, I understand. It took seeing them in action for me to understand them. However, it is not all that complicated.
Revel Tune smart audio glasses are regular glasses, first of all. You can use them for your prescription lenses. They are particularly impressive in the realm of tech-based glasses because they are completely customizable. You can get the lenses you need and want, with blue blockers, transition lenses, or polarized lenses if necessary.
GlassesUSA.com’s blue blocker lenses include BLUEASE technology, another exciting technological innovation when it comes to the optometry world. Research has consistently shown the negative impact blue light from the screens of each and every device has on us, physically and psychologically. This is all the more true at night, when it can cause insomnia or shallow sleep. Blue blocker lenses block blue light, in a similar way to how sunglasses block UV light.
But let’s move on from the lenses to the exciting technology of Revel Tune frames. These smart audio glasses use Bluetooth capabilities to play music and take calls with a swipe of the frame. And you don’t need headphones.
A pair of Revel Tune glasses uses technology that transmits sounds from the frames themselves. And no, that does not mean you will annoy everyone around you. The sound is optimized for only you to hear it.
They are designed to let in some ambient sound – whether people or traffic or pets – so that you are not cut off from the world so much as to be in danger. This is especially useful when you are out in public, around strangers and hazards.
Revel Tune glasses are designed so that you never have to take your phone out for functionality. You can tap to play music or answer calls, and swipe to switch songs and change the volume. The swipe function is particularly handy if you listen to audiobooks and occasionally need to rewind thirty seconds when your attention wanders.
A new wave in wearable tech
This is exactly the sort of wearable technology we need. One of the many problems with Google Glass was that it provided a whole other device for you to carry on your person. The same is true with smartwatches – with your phone handy, there’s no need for a watch to tell the time. It’s an extra device that you now need to have on you.
Smart glasses buck the trend and add functionality to something you are going to be wearing anyway. They are not a novelty product that you wear for the technology. On the contrary, they bring features to your prescription glasses.
Hopefully this is part of a new wave in wearable technology. Technology that is built into our day-to-day accouterments, like sneakers and belts. Of course, there is a reason some wearable innovations work while others don’t.
Simplicity
Revel Tune glasses are so effective because of their simplicity. You don’t need to do anything other than tap or swipe for full functionality. Smartwatches and the like, on the other hand, attempt to do much more with varying levels of success.
One of the challenges is the imperfection of speech recognition. While speech recognition has improved since the early days of Siri, it has not come nearly far enough for most people to bother using it. You have to know exactly what you want and have a phrase formulated. And even then, it might mishear you or misinterpret your phrasing.
Without the ease of use of something like speech recognition, functionality goes out the window for complicated devices. People are reluctant to send texts or answer emails with it, and feel the need to check whether it got a calendar entry right.
So, for now, simple functionality integrated seamlessly into a pair of glasses will improve someone’s experience, but other wearables have a long way to go if they are to follow.
Mass market
One last thing to note is that Revel Tune smart glasses are remarkable because of their affordability. Prescription glasses can be quite expensive on their own. Revel Tune glasses cost slightly more than a regular pair, but not by all that much. A pair of designer glasses may cost significantly more.
It is worth giving them a go if you need a new pair of glasses. They’re fun to use, attractive, and signal a new wave of wearable tech.