Members of the Hologram team went to CES 2018 to learn about the state of Augmented Reality (AR) headsets. In this blog post, we’ll share what we learned.
There were several prototype demos of AR headsets at CES. These included a 100-degree FOV Realmax, Flex which uses reflective waveguide technology, MadGaze, HiScene, Rokid and more… Most of these devices are in prototype phase and aren’t ready for consumers. In fact, if you wanted to purchase a headset today only the Daqri and the Meta 2 have a two-week turnaround.
AR Glasses in Development
- Daqri’s glasses use reflective waveguide technology and are targeted for the industrial enterprise. The double as safety glasses and cost $5000 per pair.
- The Meta 2s are $1500 and use a gaming PC for computation graphical rendering. They have a very wide 90 degree field of view with 2.5K resolution and hand tracking gestures for AR interactivity.
- In the first half of 2018, ODG will release the R8 and R9s to consumers and enterprises alike. The R9s are priced at $2000 and while the R8s are expected to be cheaper their website doesn’t list a price.
- Vuzix Blade 3000 are available for pre-order and said they would ship their $2000 developer kit by Q2. With a monocle display and lack of tracking these act as a smart glasses HUD, vs an Immersive AR experience.
- Mira’s $99 Prism headset that uses an iPhone had surprisingly good quality, a fantastic low-cost option to try an AR experience. Mira is sold out of it’s first production run but said they are working towards a second batch.
- Magic Leap Ones are the glasses most consumers have been waiting for, their December announcement indicates developer kits in the first half of 2018, which implies that a consumer release of late 2018 early 2019.
- Flex LTD demo’d a headset prototype at CES that looks high quality. They have the manufacturing expertise to produce glasses in volume but ship dates are unknown.
- Lastly, we expect Microsoft to release the Hololens V3 sometime in 2019. In regards to the prototypes shown at CES, it’s difficult to say which ones will make it to market, but it’s unlikely any will be available before 2019.
Another bright spot is the recent Lumus, Quantas partnership to manufacture waveguides. Production of the 40 degree FOV, 720p waveguides is expected to ramp early 2018 making headset components more accessible for hardware manufacturers shipping in 2019. 1080p waveguides are expected to start production in volume at the end of 2018.
This year is a foundational one for AR. It’s a year of dev kits, ramping production and technological improvements that prepare hardware suppliers for early consumers seeking glasses in 2019.
