The news: Solos launched AirGo Vision smart glasses, taking direct aim at competitor Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.

• AirGo Vision glasses offer visual recognition, language translation, and voice assistance powered by GPT-4.
• Unlike Meta’s glasses, AirGo Vision features a swappable frame system that lets users wear the glasses with or without the camera to increase privacy while maintaining AI features.

Cost competition: Some wearables brands have struggled with customer adoption due to high prices—like the $1,500 Google Glass smart glasses, for example.

• The AirGo Vision glasses are $149, or $349 with an optional camera-free frame, while Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses range from $299 to $379.
• That cost difference could be enough to win over smart glasses consumers that were on the fence.

Seamless wear: The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a familiar design that matches the appearance of regular glasses and aren’t overly “techy.” Solos’ wearables, on the other hand, are bulkier and may stick out more.

• The AirGo Vision camera frames are similar to common glasses but feature two large lenses at the temples.
• This, as well as the loss of Ray-Ban’s familiar brand name, could feel too experimental for consumers to wear daily.
• Flashy designs have hindered some other brands in the market, including Snap’s Spectacles.

Our take: Solos is taking on an established product, but its lower cost and ability to appeal to privacy-focused consumers could help it attract users.

Glasses can offer a more seamless design for on-device AI than wearable pins or other form factors, leaving the market open for more glasses competitors.

(Source: Solos)

This article is part of EMARKETER’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong, and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025. If you want to learn how to get insights like these delivered to your inbox every day, and get access to our data-driven forecasts, reports, and industry benchmarks, schedule a demo with our sales team.