After testing Meta's Ray-Bans for a month, reviewing smart glasses has left me a little uneasy.
From grappling with privacy concerns and the general stigma around wearables, I sidestepped pretty fast from the 'ooh, fun new tech' camp to 'yeah nah' territory, but that didn't stop me from remaining curious about smart glasses.
When Rokid invited me to a media briefing for its new AI + AR glasses, I tried to put my scepticism aside. This was largely because this wasn't the Chinese brand's first entry into smart wearables, having produced 11 generations of AI glasses since 2018.
Aside from the clunky name, Rokid's glasses claimed to allow wearers to capture hands-free 12MP photos and videos, receive real-time translations across 89 languages with live subtitles, and offer navigational guidance. Beyond these features, Rokid's glasses have dual Micro-LED displays that project its AI assistant's responses. As a 2000s kid who grew up obsessed with the Spy Kids movies, my heart skipped a beat.
The glasses are super lightweight, weighing just 49g, and as a full-time glasses wearer, I had the opportunity to order my prescription with the pair. My prescription came in the form of magnetic lenses secured inside the frame and are easily removable. That said, Rokid's glasses cost a pretty penny — AU$999 to be exact — making them a much more expensive wearable option than the likes of Meta, which can be found for around $469.
I put Rokid's AI + AR glasses to the test to see if they are actually worth it when it comes to its supposedly superior LED displays, how it handles photos and coming to grips with its privacy policy. Did Rokid's wearables change my perspective on smart glasses? Read on to find out.
Any privacy concerns?
Before we jump into the meat of testing, it was rather important to dig through Rokid's privacy policy before taking them out on my day-to-day routine. And for the most part, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, however, it's worth a mention in the off chance you don't read (and digest) the lengthy T&Cs.
For starters, Rokid's app, Hi Rokid, requires you to be at least 18 or older to create an account and access the glasses. It also explicitly mentions the device is not for children. Alongside this, the personal data to be aware of that Rokid captures is your location and voice content when using the device. This means it collects and stores your queries and interactions for as long as the company sees fit.
When it comes to voice content, Rokid's privacy policy does not explicitly state that what you say is used for review or AI model training, which was a large part of Meta's privacy issues. However, that does not mean your data could be used for those purposes.
I hit accept in the app, knowing full well what I was getting myself into, but do keep this in mind if you're conscious of your personal data being collected.
If you're concerned about misuse of your data or don't want it to be stored away, you can always email the company to request deletion of your data or delete your account.
Micro-LED displays are not a gimmick
One of the most intriguing features of Rokid's AI glasses is the Micro-LED screens, which emit a green light display. This display provides a visual depiction of Rokid's AI assistant and features on-screen navigational advice, a teleprompter, live translation and more, so you don't need to keep your phone unlocked to use the glasses (you'll need to keep it running in the background, though).
What I enjoyed about the LED screens was the constant display of the weather and time, which would pop up anytime I interacted with the smart assistant or touchpad. It meant no more looking at my watch or phone screen — I could simply swipe the touchpad on the frames, and I was good to go.
That said, there are plenty more use cases for the screens, especially if you're on the go or often make presentations. I'm talking about navigational directions and the teleprompter here, as both are key drivers for the Rokid glasses.
The Rokid app syncs with Google Maps, so I could easily type in the address, select whether I was walking, cycling or driving and hit start navigation. The displays show an estimated time of arrival, as well as a mini route map or directions to follow.
Navigational directions were pretty seamless and spot-on — it's basically Google Maps in AR form after all. When navigating my local park, I had no issue checking the green text or listening to the assistant as it told me where to turn. The only niggle is using common sense and watching where you may be walking so you don't unintentionally walk into someone (it only happened once, okay!).
While navigation was my most used feature, I was also pretty impressed by the teleprompter and live translation. I didn't have to make any presentations over my review period, but if I did, it was as simple as pasting my chosen text into the app and pressing start. The teleprompter can scroll automatically, or you can adjust the speed using the touchpad as you're reading. As for live translation, you can set it up again in the app, hit start and it'll project subtitles via the display in real time.
Image quality could be improved
While my time with the Rokid AI + AR glasses has been largely positive, there were a few downsides worth mentioning — namely the image quality.
There's only one 12MP camera on the device in the left corner, so most images I took were slightly lopsided and positioned towards the left. This is not the worst thing ever, but the Rokid glasses pale in comparison to Meta's great camera capabilities.
Videos were pretty similar too, only reaching 1680p resolution, which is rather wide and again, a bit off-centre. There was a lot to be desired from the video and photo quality, and especially for the price, I had hoped the camera would be a whole lot better.
In many instances, those interested in smart wearables want to capture moments handsfree while remaining "present", which is just a copout for not wanting to have a smartphone or digital camera interrupt a core memory. However, in Rokid's case, you're better off using your smartphone to capture images, as the quality will be indisputably and dramatically better. That said, if you want to take photos or videos hands-free, Rokid's glasses will do the trick, but just don't expect to get the right angle on the first go.
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, I'm still not sure how I feel about smart wearables overall, but Rokid's entry doesn't disappoint.
The AI + AR glasses are the definition of a fun tech gizmo, and I'm keen to get more use out of them… but only in the few circumstances that I'll allow. Pricing is a touch exorbitant if you're looking at them solely from a camera angle; however, the handy navigation features, live translation and teleprompter have me sold.
While I can safely move myself out of the 'yeah nah' camp, we're still in the 'be aware' territory of smart wearables, so I'll be taking them with a grain of salt for the foreseeable future.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
