Smart glasses glossary

Everyday glasses with a camera, speakers and microphones built in, and an assistant you talk to instead of a screen you look at.

Overlaying computer-generated information onto the real world so it appears positioned within it.

Transmitting sound as vibration through the bones of the skull instead of through the air to the eardrum.

Lenses whose tint is changed electrically, so the wearer or the device controls how dark they are.

The distance between the eye and the optics at which the whole of a display's image can still be seen.

The angle of the scene a camera can capture or a display can fill, measured in degrees.

Genuine stock sold through a channel the manufacturer did not authorise for that country, usually without the local warranty.

A small display that projects information onto the lens so it appears in the wearer's view without them looking away.

Correction that reduces the shake in video, either by moving parts of the camera or by processing the footage.

A two-character code stating how well a device resists solid particles and water, for example IP54 or IPX4.

A display technology using microscopic self-lit LEDs, bright and efficient enough for a small see-through display in a glasses frame.

An AI model that can take in more than one kind of input at once, such as an image and a spoken question together.

The unit used to measure display brightness; one nit is one candela per square metre.

Speakers that sit just outside the ear and direct sound inward, leaving the ear canal open.

The practice of importing genuine stock for resale outside the manufacturer's authorised distribution for that country.

Lenses that darken in sunlight and clear again indoors, reacting to ultraviolet light rather than being switched.

Corrective lenses fitted to a frame in place of the standard ones, within a stated range of prescription strengths.

Translating speech as it is spoken and delivering the result within a few seconds, as audio or on-screen text.

A built-in assistant you reach by speaking, used to capture photos, control playback and ask questions.