OPPO Air Glass Hands-on

Smart glasses are likely to become the third screen in our smart wear life. At INNO Day 2021, OPPO unveiled their newest product, the OPPO Air Glass. It is an assisted reality smart glass that works with OPPO smartphones and smartwatches.

We finally got our hands on one, so without any further ado, let’s check it out!

Taking a closer look at the OPPO Air Glass, it has a single-lens design and is paired with a magnetic frame. It’s actually a pretty straightforward-looking device that’s made out of high-grade polycarbonate material.

Upfront, we have the glasses themselves with a waveguide display that uses a micro-LED projector screen hidden by a black tint in the part of the glasses.

Found on the outer side are the touch bar and the OPPO logo.

Flipping over to the other side, there are the connector pins for mounting onto the glass frame and for charging, which is surrounded by two microphones and a speaker, that are essential for taking calls and you can also use them as your earphones or personal speaker.

Weighing in at 30g, the Air Glass didn’t cause any irritation when worn for long periods, which is excellent, especially when you are using this device when presenting or just for casual use.

Additionally, an eyeglass is included in the package wherein you customize it to suit your eye grade if you have any.

Moving over to the waveguide display, it uses a monochrome Micro LED projector with a resolution of 640 × 480, which produces sharp texts and elements.

Now, to pair this device, you need an OPPO smartphone or OPPO smartwatch, and then install the Smart Glass app. From the Smart Glass app, just like other Bluetooth devices, just pair it and you’re good to go. Once paired, you can toggle notifications by tapping the Air Glass’ slim touch bar or simply by nodding your head, and then tap again or shaking your head to close them. To switch between apps, simply swipe the touch bar.

As for its features, the Air Glass is used for navigation, translation, teleprompter, calendar, weather, fitness tracking, and more.

We tried using it outdoors, and the Micro LED display can still be visible even under broad daylight as it can produce up to 1,400 of peak brightness.

For hardware, the Air Glass sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 processor, which helps keep things running smoothly on this spectacle. Unfortunately, we don’t have the exact battery capacity, but according to OPPO, this device can go for up to 3 hours of continuous usage and up to 40 hours of standby time, which is relatively accurate during our testing.

As of writing, the OPPO Air Glass only works hand-in-hand with an OPPO device running ColorOS 11 or above. However, it will surely be compatible with most Android smartphones and even iOS devices when it hits the market.

With failed attempts in the past from other companies like Google, one can see the potential this technology can bring, from using it as an alternative to smartwatches to seeing and managing notifications, as well as listening to videos a bit more privately. At this point, there are still a lot of things that can be improved in terms of both appearance and functionality.

This OPPO Air Glass is currently in its testing stage and will not be available in the market anytime soon. As for our friends at OPPO, the device will have its LIMITED release in the first quarter of 2022, and it’ll initially be available in Mainland China.

So what do you think about the OPPO Air Glass? Do let us know in the comments.

With inputs from Arel Ebana