Will consumers ever buy (into) AR glasses?

Let’s be clear about one thing from the start: The AR glasses shown here are not a genuine design concept (or even currently available product) by Microsoft. They are created by an external designer who could have been, admittedly, a little bit more clear about the origin and status of this concept.

Nevertheless, the fake Microsoft Holo Glasses are an interesting design concept for consumer-facing AR glasses. One that helps us think: what will it take for consumers to buy AR smart glasses and wear them on their heads?

In short: AR glasses need to be fashion-first and help us connect with the world around us.

The (fake) Holo Glasses design concept

The designer envisions the Holo Glasses as a device that would miniaturize existing Hololens functionalities into a form factor that consumers are willing to wear out in public.

Cameras would take care of object and spatial tracking, and lenses in front of the eye would reflect images into your retina. Sound would be conveyed through bone-conducting ends in the frame. This would deliver audio directly to the wearer without needing to wear earphones, which would be a good choice for most-of-day use.

I wonder whether spatial audio can be achieved via bone-conduction, but even if…