This year’s Indian Mobile Congress featured an extensive display by Jio, including one of the most prominent Jio booths seen at an exhibition. Among the various demonstrations at the booth, one of the standout products was the JioGlass. These smart glasses 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 Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) acquired in 2019. Tesseract specializes in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology for various products, including cameras, headsets, and smart glasses. The JioGlass, their flagship product, is proudly made in India, aligning with the ‘Make in India’ vision.
The JioGlass immediately catches the eye with its futuristic appearance. Weighing only 69 grams, these smart glasses sport a sleek metallic grey frame with two lenses, resembling something from a science fiction movie. Their featherweight design ensures comfort, even during extended usage.
The glasses offer the flexibility to switch between AR and VR modes. You can attach or detach a removable flap to achieve this transition. With the flap on, the glasses block out the external environment and immerse you in your content. Removing the flap allows you to see the world around you, but with an augmented reality overlay. While the AR mode was disabled on the pre-launch units, the VR mode was impressive. It creates the illusion of a large virtual screen, thanks to the 1080p display for each eye, equivalent to a 100-inch virtual screen.
The JioGlass features two speakers on the sides, positioned above the ears. It also supports spatial audio for a realistic sound environment. However, the audio quality left something to be desired, sounding somewhat tinny and muffled. Users might find it more satisfactory to use earbuds.
To operate, these glasses need to be connected to a smartphone via a Type-C cable, which also serves as a power source. The cable’s presence could be slightly inconvenient, particularly because it’s not visible in VR mode. Yet, it eliminates the need for a bulky external battery pack.
The smartphone can function as a virtual controller for interface navigation and content selection. Users can access numerous XR apps tailored to various interests and preferences through the JioImmerse XR Store app on their phones. It’s possible to stream movies, shows, and sports from popular platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar. Additionally, the JioGlass can connect to gaming consoles and PCs, promising an immersive gaming experience on a large virtual screen.
The JioGlass is slated for launch later this year, with a wireless version planned for the future. Details about the price and official availability are yet to be announced.
