This year’s Indian Mobile Congress was an event dominated by telecom technologies, and it featured one of the largest Jio booths ever seen at an exhibition. Among the various demonstrations at the booth was the JioGlass, which, in my opinion, is one of the most exciting products of the year from an Indian company. These are a pair of smart glasses that connect to your smartphone and transform its content into a virtual 100-inch screen.
The JioGlass is a product of Tesseract, a deep-tech startup that was acquired by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in 2019. Tesseract specializes in developing Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology for various products, including cameras, headsets, and smart glasses. The JioGlass is their flagship product and is proudly manufactured in India to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The first thing that immediately captured my attention about the JioGlass was its futuristic appearance. Weighing only 69 grams, these glasses boast a sleek metallic grey frame with two lenses, resembling something straight out of a science fiction movie. They are so stylish that I believe you could comfortably wear them in public without attracting strange looks. Thanks to their featherweight design, comfort isn’t an issue, and I’m confident they would feel natural even during extended use.
The lenses can seamlessly switch between AR and VR modes by attaching or detaching a removable flap that conceals your eyes behind a stylish chrome finish. With the flap on, the glasses block out the outside world, immersing you in the content you are consuming. Removing the flap allows you to see the real world with an augmented reality overlay. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test the AR mode since it was disabled on these pre-launch units.
Even without the AR mode, I was thoroughly impressed by the VR experience. It was remarkable to witness such a compact device create the illusion of a large virtual screen. The JioGlass is equipped with a 1080p display for each eye, providing a 100-inch virtual screen. While the clarity could be improved, it was still quite impressive.
The glasses also feature two speakers on the sides, positioned above the ears. They support spatial audio to create a more realistic auditory environment. However, I was less impressed with the audio quality, as the speakers sounded somewhat tinny and muffled. I believe using earbuds would provide a significantly better audio experience.
The glasses need to be connected to a smartphone via a Type-C cable, which also serves as the power source. Although the cable was somewhat bothersome, especially since it’s not visible when in VR mode, you’d likely get used to it. On the plus side, there’s no bulky battery pack to carry around.
The smartphone can also function as a virtual controller for navigating the interface and selecting content. Users can access numerous XR apps tailored to different interests and preferences through the JioImmerse XR Store app on their phones.
Streaming favorite movies, shows, and sports from platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar is also possible. You can even connect your gaming consoles or PCs to the glasses and enjoy immersive gaming on a large screen. While I couldn’t personally explore these features due to limited time with the glasses, they hold great promise. The JioGlass is expected to launch later this year, with a wireless version in the works, although official pricing and availability details are yet to be disclosed.
