HTC Made Smart Glasses That Are Way More Private
HTC has launched the Vive Eagle smart glasses, which feature integrated cameras, speakers, and an AI assistant. The company is positioning the product as a privacy-conscious alternative to competitors like Meta by focusing on user and bystander protection.
Why it matters
As smart eyewear becomes more common, the balance between advanced AI features and public privacy concerns remains a critical hurdle for mass adoption.
In September, HTC started selling its $499 Vive Eagle smart glasses in the US. The Eagles have lots of the same features as other glasses on the market—cameras for capturing photos and video, speakers in the frames for music playback and calls, an embedded AI agent you can ask questions of and even get recipes from by taking pictures of stuff in your fridge.
But HTC also wants to steer clear of the ongoing debate about privacy in camera-equipped smart glasses. Meta has been dogged by controversy for its smart glasses, with people worried about the company’s interest in enabling face-recognition features, and calling the people who wear them creepy. HTC is aware of that discourse and thinks it is completely possible to make smart glasses that aren’t a privacy nightmare.
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