With CES 2018 getting underway on Monday, you would expect the next couple of days to be filled with product announcements and gadget previews, and so it's proving. The latest bit of hardware to grab our attention: AR glasses from Vuzix, with Alexa on board.
Bloomberg reports that the specs will be out by the middle of 2018 and are going to set you back a cool $1,000 (about £735). If that's a bit too rich for your budget, within a year the company is hoping to get that price down by around 50 percent, according to Vuzix CEO Paul Travers.
Other details are pretty scarce at the moment but we'll hear all about the glasses next week. What we do know is that an integrated Alexa assistant will be on hand to bring up maps, show sports scores or display the next day's weather in the wearer's immediate field of vision.
Alexa everywhere
Vuzix is an old hand at AR and VR glasses, though these look to be more advanced and capable than anything that's gone before. Presumably the bulk of the processing will be done by a connected smartphone but we'll have to wait for the full announcement.
As for Alexa, Amazon is obviously still keen to get the digital assistant out to as many devices as possible – in the last couple of days the company has unveiled an initiative to make it easier for other manufacturers to embed Alexa in their stuff, whether it's headphones or smartwatches.
Of course the real test will be how well these Vuzix glasses overlay digital elements on top of the real world, so we'll try and get some hands-on time with them if they're available in Las Vegas. Stay tuned to the site next week for all the news from CES 2018.
