MWC 2023: Xiaomi announces wireless AR glasses that can seamlessly switch between virtual and real world

MWC 2023: Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition uses electrochromic technology and is powered by Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 1 processor.

Xiaomi's wireless AR glasses has a sci-fi look (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia / Indian Express)

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Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone with Leica lens was the cynosure of all eyes when it launched at the MWC 2023. However, the Chinese smartphone maker has a few more products that caught all the attention. The titanium-coloured Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition with its cool features created a buzz at the ongoing event.

While the Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition isn’t that different from the other wireless AR glasses, the company claims that it features a lightweight design and the entire unit weighs just 126 grams. The lightweight has been achieved with magnesium-lithium alloy structure and carbon fibre materials. Hence, despite being light, the AR glasses should withstand normal wear and tear.

As the name suggests, the Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition is a standalone device with a built-in battery. Featuring two micro OLED screens (one per eye) with up to 1200nits of brightness and 58 PPD (pixel per degree), there is also a free-form light-guiding prism on each display module to project content. The lenses on the AR device use electrochromic technology, where, they can be turned on or turned off by passing electricity through them.

Boasting a retina-level near-eye display for AR glasses, Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition delivers a truly immersive visual experience. Moreover, our self-developed Xiaomi AR Gesture Control empowers effortless control between virtual and real space. pic.twitter.com/EipqBWxkpW

— Lei Jun (@leijun) February 27, 2023

When turned off, users can wear the AR glasses and interact with the real world as they do with regular sunglasses. Once turned on, the glasses will deliver an enhanced AR experience by blocking the external light. Users will also have an option to adjust the intensity of the tint, depending on the external lighting condition. Users can also switch between three sizes of nosepieces and people with nearsightedness need to use an attachable myopic clip.

There is support for various gestures, where, the user’s inner fingers can be used for gesture recognition and it also supports the 12 knuckles function, which is said to be similar to the Chinese nine-key input method, allowing users to text input by thumb tapping in the finger area. These glasses also have a low-power-usage AON (always-on) camera that facilitates these gestures. Besides, one can also pair a smartphone and use conventional gesture controls from the same.

These glasses are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 1, hence, the performance of these glasses should be in between the Meta Quest 2 and the Meta Quest 2 Pro. Hence, we could expect the price of these AR glasses to be on the higher side.

According to the company, the Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition can run apps like TikTok and YouTube with AR optimisations. The glasses also come with a pair of integrated speakers with support for spatial audio. While it is a wireless AR glass, it still needs to be paired with a Xiaomi 13 or an Android smartphone that is Snapdragon Spaces ready.