Since Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the latest Ray-Ban Meta Smartglasses and pronounced AI as the new force multiplier in smartglasses, there’s been elevated attention on this pairing of technologies. But before he made those statements from the daylit Menlo Park stage, this principle had been in development elsewhere.
One such product underway was the Solos AirGo3 Smart glasses. Launched in November, they look like regular frames, but feature ChatGPT, making them more than just another pair of audio smart glasses, and they’re priced at an accessible $199.99. What they lack is a display (like Ray-Ban Meta Smartglasses), but what they provide is a superior wearable AI experience for an on-the-go user. Solos AirGo3 features a new noise-suppressing voice recognition technology named “Whisper.” In our casual testing, it understood commands with music playing in the car.
Unboxing the AirGo3 is the beginning of your interaction with its custom GPT, which guides you through installation, and after becomes your wearable ChatGPT co-pilot. You could of course use the ChatGPT app to Bluetooth with your Air Pods, but you would miss out on the Whisper voice recognition. In this way, the glasses are simply a wearable interface for ChatGPT.
The Solos frames feature what they call “SmartHinge,” a design that allows users to swap out the front frame for customization that matches every occasion—whether it’s for sports, fashion, the office, or other endpoints. The frames are interchangeable using USB TypeC connectors. The battery life is around ten hours, but vision correction will of course work even when they’re out of juice.
The AirGo3 mobile app adds a lot to the experience in addition to the use of ChatGPT. It is purpose-built for AI, outshining competitors focused on presenting a second screen or simply delivering Bluetooth audio. While Ray-Ban Stories offers smart functionalities like picture-taking, video recording, and audio management, it relies on a Facebook account for setup and falls short on digital assistance and wellness. The integration of ChatGPT-powered voice commands, wellness trackers, and posture studies speaks to a more health-conscious, digitally savvy user base. Did we mention it’s under $200?
The AirGo3 app includes Whisper Messages and Events, which allow users to have messages read aloud from various platforms like text, WhatsApp, and Teams, as soon as they’re received, with voice notifications delivered through the glasses’ open-ear directional stereo speakers. Additionally, the app supports voice search, translation, and texting, enabling users to engage in on-the-go communication and even share content directly to social media. Add a few more sensors to the AirGo3 and it would give the new $699 AI Pin a run for its money.
Charlie Fink is the author of the AR-enabled books “Metaverse,” (2017) and “Convergence” (2019). In the early 90s, Fink was EVP & COO of VR pioneer Virtual World Entertainment. He teaches at Chapman University in Orange, CA.
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