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Autofocusing Smart Glasses With Eye Tracking Tech Could Make Bifocals Obsolete (hothardware.com)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Exciting news for those enough who are 40+ and spend too much time in front of a computer screen: a Finnish startup called IXI is promising to end the era of clunky bifocals and the 'head-tilt' struggle of progressive lenses, replacing them with a pair of glasses that focus as naturally as the human eye using a combination of infrared eye tracking and liquid crystal-transparent indium tin oxide glasses

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[–] 5 points 10 months ago (5 children)

I should have clarified one time cost for frames and a pair of lenses compared against a potential (likely) subscription. I have personally worn bifocals for the last 21 years.

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  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    21 years with the same frames?

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  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Again, no. My point is that if I purchase a pair of frames with lenses, the transaction is over. I would not have to pay a monthly subscription for those same glasses and lenses to remain functional, which is much more likely for a set of glasses infused with technology and tracking, backed by Amazon.

    The tech glasses positied here would still need to be updated periodically. Per the article, they have a base prescription lens that then has additional focusing ability layered on via the technology.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah, but that isn't a one-time cost, either. That's a recurring cost, typically on a biannual basis, and usually much higher than the monthly subscription. That said, being able to walk out with something that is going to reliably work for the next couple years definitely has its benefits. Ive just never considered something with a definite lifespan and a requirement to replace as a one-time cost. Kind of like the difference between paying property taxes monthly or yearly - I'm still paying and it isn't going to stop.

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  • [–] 6 points 10 months ago

    I get your point on that. My assumption with the tech glasses is that you purchase the hardware outright and pay a subscription for the software functionality, similar to other tech devices that have fallen to enshitification. The prime difference I see is that standard glasses packages are a one time lump payment vs a one time lump payment followed by a slow bleed of money. Yes, prescriptions change, frames break, etc., but on a 1:1 comparison level, you get more reliable functionality and cost effectiveness through regular glasses rather than something that can be bricked through a bad software/firmware update or rendered nonfunctional by the manufacturer if you reject an invasive privacy policy or let a subscription lapse.

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