the battlefield is divided between camera yes or camera no

“Morons with a camera in their faces”, this is how Will Wang described the users of Ray-Ban Meta glasses during a interview with Financial Times. Who is this man and why does he say that? Wang is the CEO of Even Realities, a Shenzhen-based startup that (surprise!) also sells AI glasses, but with an important difference.

No cameras. It is Even Realities’ commitment to differentiate itself in the emerging market for glasses with artificial intelligence. His glasses do not have a camera to avoid “social friction”, something he Meta’s glasses can’t boast so much. Furthermore, recently we learned that Ray-Ban Meta records when you take them off and everything recorded was viewed by contractors in Kenya. It is the perfect marketing campaign for Even Realities, which boasts that its glasses only collect essential data, they do not store data in the cloud unless the user explicitly consents, and when they do, the data is always encrypted and sensitive information is eliminated.

Why is it important. If Even Realities’ proposal succeeds (and with the controversies that Meta is accumulating, it has options) we may be facing a division of the AI ​​glasses market into two categories:

• On the one hand, glasses with cameras, like the Ray-Ban Meta, which see and record what is happening around us.
• On the other hand, tubeless glasses like those from Even or Mijia that function more as an extra help for the user and that does not affect the rest of the people we come across in any way.

Even G2. This is the name of the latest model of the Chinese brand. The Even G2 have microphones, speakers and a screen integrated into the glass so that only the user can see it, similar to that of Meta Displaybut in this case it is a panel of monochromatic (green) micro LEDs. Among its functions are real-time translation up to 35 languages, voice-controlled teleprompter, GPS navigation notifications with visual indications and a voice assistant with AI.

The Even G2 now They can be purchased for 700 eurosmuch more expensive than the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 which costs 419 euros. Wang has an explanation for this price difference: “They are losing money (…) the only way it makes sense to them is if they can really benefit their model by collecting data,” he assured the Financial Times.

This is what the internal screen of the Even G2 looks like. Image: Even Realities

What does Meta say about all this? Regarding Even Realities they have limited themselves to describing it as a “Chinese competitor wannabe” and insists that the data does not come out of the glasses unless the user gives permission. What they do not say is that, by agreeing to use the AI ​​assistant, we are also agreeing to give up voice, text, image and video. That is, if you want to use Meta AI, you have to jump through the hoops and the fact that it is specified in its terms of use does not make it any less questionable.

The market already has a leader (for now). Despite the controversies, Meta continues to lead this new category at a great distance from its adversaries. According to the consulting firm OmdiaMeta has 85% of the market and has already sold 7.4 million units of its glasses. There is an important fact and that is that the vast majority of glasses with AI are in the US, so perhaps the ranking could change if this product becomes popular in another country, especially China, which is already registering the fastest growth.

Image | Even Realities, Meta. With own edition

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