The Rokid Glasses: A $1M Kickstarter Success

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Within its first week, the Rokid Glasses surpassed $1 million on Kickstarter and has since broken the $4 million mark. All the hype is due to its compact form factor, giving off an “everyday wear” feel while also having a camera and dual waveguides outputting its displays.

Rokid is a China and US-based AR startup with a strong background in AI voice technology and enterprise AR solutions. Its Max and Max 2 line, for example, are known for being lightweight while delivering a high-definition AR display for entertainment and productivity uses.

Overview of the Rokid Glasses

Unlike the Rokid Max, which is often advertised as a consumer entertainment device, the Rokid Glasses are more focused on productivity and AI integration. Users can chat with ChatGPT via voice commands and its integrated dual waveguides outputting a green monochrome display with the AI’s answer.

You can ask ChatGPT for directions to your local coffee shop, get text and voice translation of 89 languages (all offline), and ask any other query that ChatGPT can handle. The displays are micro-LED and can deliver up to 1,500 nits of brightness. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 and NXP’s RT600 processors power the device.

There’s one 12MP camera with a 109-degree FOV (field of view) that is capable of shooting photos and filming video. With a 210 mAh battery, the glasses have 8 to 10 hours of mixed use, but intensive use can bring that down to ~2 hours.

Users can take phone calls and listen to music through its open-ari speakers. All of this comes in a compact form at just 49 grams. This is in part due to its frame made out of high-polymer titanium plastic.

The Rokid Smart Glasses vs. the Competition

The Xreal Air 2 Ultra is capable of hand tracking and spatial computing but does not come with a camera, only sensors. It’s slightly bulkier than the Rokid Glasses and heavier at 83 grams.

It has micro OLED displays with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels per eye and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Its main differentiator is that it’s geared more towards visualizing virtual elements in a real-world environment, like models or your computer screen.

Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses are audio-focused with audio commands and feedback from Meta’s AI. The smart glasses also come with an ultra-wide 12MP camera for image capture and video recording. Unlike the Rokid Glasses, Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses do not have displays. However, Meta’s next addition, Hypernova smart glasses, will have a built-in display.

RayNeo X2 is similar to the Xreal Air 2 Ultra, but with high-definition 16MP cameras. Because of this and its other features, it has worse battery life at around 1 to 5 hours, depending on display and audio use, when compared to the Rokid Glasses. It’s also much bulkier and more than double the weight at ~120 grams.

The Rokid AR Glasses offer a nice midpoint between AR visualization and wearable computing. Its displays are not as high-end and capable as the Xreal and RayNeo, but it is also much less bulky than those two. And unlike the Meta Ray-Bans, the Rokid does have displays instead of only audio output.

Rokid’s Success and the Future of AR Smart Glasses

No one wants to wear bulky glasses, which is one reason why the Rokid Glasses Kickstarter was so successful. Another reason is that, in the past, AR glasses were marketed for either work or entertainment and weren’t practical for all-day use, but Rokid offers a wearable that can become an everyday wear.

In other words, hybrid enterprise-consumer adoption is becoming more feasible. AR glasses are more than what the smart watch has become; they can and will offer immediate enhancement, along with a personal AI assistant for every user. In the past, smart glasses were prototypes and not much more. Today, they’re much closer to having mass-market appeal.

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