[Intro Trailer]
This is the Qualcomm XR1 AR Glasses Reference Design.
We can almost not tell the difference between these and regular glasses, right?
Well, at least from the front.
But why is this interesting?
First of all, Qualcomm’s reference designs are not consumer products, but they are blueprints
given to companies so they can make their own versions of it.
It’s a reference, not a product a company can SLAM their logo on and just copy the specs.
That would just be lazy.
But Qualcomm’s work here is important and super interesting for all of us as it always
gives us a good glimpse of what the future of AR and VR looks like.
And not far away in the future either.
But for THIS year.
Yes, Qualcomm makes reference designs for VR headsets too, like last year, it was THIS
one with the XR2 chip that’s now also in the Oculus Quest 2.
Now, Qualcomm invited me to one of their press briefings, which was awesomely in VR.
Over there, they showed us their new AR glasses reference design and shared all the specs.
So let’s talk about that and also let me update you about the current state of AR glasses
and what’s coming out in the coming months.
But first, if you like to see more videos like this one, subscribe if you haven’t
yet, as that’s a huge support.
And now, join me beyond reality.
Maybe you’re now wondering why the heck would you want AR glasses if you already got
VR?
Well, I’m personally equally excited about the possibilities of Augmented Reality as
I am about Virtual Reality.
I think both can be used for great things.
For me personally, that’s different things.
VR is when I want to escape or be distraction-free.
It’s perfect for gaming, and I cannot imagine my life without my virtual worlds anymore.
AR seems to lean more towards other things, for me at least, like productivity.
Imagine browsing the web on a huge screen in a subway or working on multiple screens
while your desk looks clean AF like this guy.
AR is also less closed off, so you can make hangouts with friends more fun with things
like holographic board games.
And these are not even the only use cases.
Just things I would with it.
So this only scratches the surface.
But the current situation with AR glasses and headsets is that most of them are wired.
The processing is mainly done via a computing device, like a smartphone.
But now, we have this—the Qualcomm XR1 AR Glasses.
So... usually, we can try these kinds of things out during events, but that’s not happening
right now due to the pandemic ☹, so I hope you don’t mind I don’t have the real thing
right now.
But when Qualcomm hosted their briefing in Spatial, they showed us this 3D design there.
I thought that was so cool, so I asked them to send it to me to show it to you.
Anyways, this is Qualcomm’s first AR reference design based on the Snapdragon XR1 Platform
that’s equipped to deliver high-performance, immersive experiences at lower power consumptions.
It runs on battery, and this one as well can be tethered to a 5G smartphone but also multiple
devices like a Windows PC or processing puck using a USB-C 3.2 gen 1 slot.
The big difference with older viewers is that computing power is added to the glasses.
This allows for perception, display, and processing to be done via the glasses while the connected
device does the rendering.
This distributes the workload more efficiently and allows for more advanced features to run
simultaneously, like hand tracking, image stabilization, and rich graphics.
It also makes plane detection possible, so the glasses can detect your wall and then
paste virtual windows on it automatically.
So it looks like you have multiple monitors.
The screens are dual 0.71” Micro OLED displays.
The resolution is full HD: 1920x1080 at 90Hz, and it’s said to feature a no-motion-blur.
Interesting :o
Field of view is 45 degrees with a Fixed IPD.
I’m a little worried about this, though.
But it also includes a bunch of sensors and dual monochrome tracking cameras that allow
for 6-degrees-of-freedom head and hand tracking with gesture recognition.
6DoF is what you need to let users naturally do things, like walk around the room and interact
with, for example, 3D holograms.
You can also use the RGB cameras to show other people what you are seeing.
Kind of like a Cyberpunk Braindance except without the sensory stuff.
But I digress.
The Qualcomm XR1 also has built-in audio, two speakers, and three microphones (am I
reading this right?
Three.
Interesting) But built-in audio is very nice as that allows for easier collaboration and
streaming.
Qualcomm also announced to be working on software, a 2D App Framework.
This makes it possible for existing 2D Android apps to be opened as augmented virtual windows.
Exactly like this, I guess, I think that’s a very welcome framework, especially since
AR is still so new, so if it comes out, at least there is something to do immediately.
When you put it on, it should look like this.
Still not entirely invisible, but it does look a lot more lightweight.
And at least from the front, it looks pretty good right?
I am wondering about its weight.
Is it going to fall off my nose?
I mean, there’s not much support at the back.
So I’m very curious.
But yeah so what’s coming this year.
Well, first, this design might remind you a lot of what Lenovo is releasing for enterprise?
The ThinkReality A3, and yes, THIS one is based on the Qualcomm XR1 reference design.
Then, just yesterday, AR glasses by Samsung were leaked as well by WalkingCat.
Very good-looking ones IMO and it looks like the same kind of concept.
These trailers are funny enough, all kinda similar.
Nreal, who is also working closely with Qualcomm, also released some news, I think like yesterday.
As you may know, they already got AR glasses released in Korea.
But now they are actually expanding to the US and Europe with the Nreal Light.
And they are coming with these neat looking MR glasses for the US as well.
The last one is more for enterprise, while the Light version is more for us consumers,
which costs 670 dollars for one pair, at least that’s price in Japan, for US we don’t
know yet.
But that is compared to the 2000+ dollars dev kit, not too bad of a price.
But yeah, that’s where we are going this year.
So far, I think I’ve tried a couple of AR glasses in the past, and I found there were
still challenges to overcome.
The main two things were back then the small field of views and fixed IPDs where the display
looked blurry to me as it didn’t fit my IPD.
I hope to see these things solved as we go, maybe this year even, but I think we are getting
there.
I think the reference design is promising, and it makes me excited to see what companies
will release in the AR space; and it’s great we don’t have to wait too long.
So let’s keep an eye on it.
At least if you enjoyed this video 😉 Leave me a like if you want me to make more of these!
And I’m curious, what do you think about this reference design?
What would you primarily use it for?
Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for watching!
You can support us for free by watching more videos that are maybe on the screen right
now.
A special thanks go to all our Champions, especially these Patrons down below.
As always, VR on!