What you need to know
- A rumor claims that Nothing’s CEO Carl Pei has started moving the company into developing AI smart glasses, alongside the usual devices.
- Supposedly, these glasses will lean on a connected phone to process the AI’s data, while also featuring a camera, speaker, and microphone.
- Nothing would be entering a market where Meta has already established itself, which recently debuted prescription lenses for its smart glasses.
A surprising report has surfaced, claiming Nothing wants to step into the world of AI-powered smart glasses.
This rumor was alleged by Bloomberg, whose unnamed source states Nothing’s CEO Carl Pei, who was previously averse to the idea, has had a change of heart (via 9to5Google). There’s little information about these AI smart glasses, such as concrete features and capabilities. However, the publication claims that these glasses won’t have the ability to handle everything on their own. As such, Nothing might require users to pair the glasses with their phone.
The post says the glasses may lean on phones for “the cloud to handle AI processing.” Data obtained would travel from the glasses to the user’s phone, the back. This begs the question of hardware, to which the report purports some features. According to Bloomberg, these Nothing smart glasses could offer cameras, speakers, and a microphone.
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A post by TechCrunch highlights previous comments from Carl Pei, which state that Nothing must “innovate on the hardware and software front, and use AI, to stand out in the market.”
These aspects scream AI-based smart glasses, likely pointing to strong voice-based assistance. The AI may be able to return results to the user after asking, but things that require visuals will likely push you to grab your phone. The rumors allege Nothing is looking at a release in 2027, alongside phones and other devices.
Nothing Glasses… 1?
(Image credit: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)
When Carl Pei dashed our hopes of a proper flagship this year, there was no mention of smart glasses in Nothing’s outlook or even a hint of what’s happening elsewhere. If this report is to be believed, Nothing would be stepping into an interesting market, one that Meta has established itself in, and one that Samsung is moving into. Samsung’s vice president of mobile business, Jay Kim, offered some insight into what consumers can expect from its first pair.
According to Kim, Samsung’s smart glasses will offer an eye-level camera that leans heavily on its AI software to “understand” what the user sees. This is kind of where we’d expect Nothing’s AI glasses to go. It’ll use its cameras to perceive what the user is talking about, but it’ll toss the heavy lifting to their phone and potentially deliver more in-depth info through its speakers.
On the other hand, you have Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses that recently debuted prescription lenses out of the box.
Android Central’s Take
Purely referencing the rumors here, I think this isn’t something that’s mindblowing. We’ve seen this type of idea before, where its purely camera-based or audio-based. It leverages a phone’s capabilities for the processing. Sure. What gets me thinking is what these glasses could look like. Nothing likes to break the mold, do a design that’s a little different than what you’d expect. However, its Nothing OS AI has moved into a utility mindset, offering users more information, better notifications, and more. I wonder if Nothing will make this like an add-on to what its phones can already do.
