HTC also enters the smart glasses battlefield! Targeting market gaps in Taiwan, competing with major players like Meta and Google.
HTC makes a move into the AI glasses market!
Taiwanese 3C brand HTC held a press conference on August 14 to announce the launch of its new product line, the HTC VIVE Eagle smart glasses, which will be available in the Taiwanese market starting September 1, priced at NT$15,600.
HTC unveiled its new product, the VIVE Eagle smart glasses.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
The HTC VIVE Eagle features a semi-transparent design, emphasizing its positioning as a fashion accessory. It is capable of taking photos and videos, providing multi-language translation, and interacting with an AI assistant, with a battery life of up to 36 hours. HTC emphasizes that this is a product “tailored for Taiwanese people,” enhancing traditional Chinese capabilities and designing the frame based on the head shape of Taiwanese individuals.
HTC VIVE Eagle smart glasses are positioned as a fashion accessory.
Photo by: HTC
Pricing Information
◆ Price: NT$15,600
◆ Launch date: Available in the Taiwan market starting September 1.
◆ Sales channels:
Taiwan Mobile: Available at all stores and online (with designated plans starting from 0 NT$)
2020EYEShaus: In-store services including eye exams and eyewear customization.
Specifications and Features: Ultra-Lightweight Body, Most “Taiwanese” AI Assistant
Design
The HTC VIVE Eagle glasses weigh only 49 grams and are available in black, red, coffee, and gray colors. It emphasizes a fashionable design with a popular semi-transparent look that allows a glimpse of the internal components, highlighting its technological feel. The nose pads and temple arms are adjustable, with the frame specially designed for the head shape of Taiwanese people.
VIVE Eagle offers four color choices.
Photo by: HTC
HTC VIVE Eagle’s semi-transparent design.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
The VIVE Eagle in actual wear.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
Since these glasses are intended for everyday wear, HTC has partnered with boutique eyewear retailer 2020EYEShaus, allowing customers to get eye exams and try them on in physical stores, as well as choose sunglasses accessories.
HTC VIVE Eagle at the 2020EYEShaus 101 store.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
Hardware Specifications
The HTC VIVE Eagle is powered by Qualcomm’s AR1 Gen1 chip designed for smart glasses, equipped with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera module that lights up during photo capture, and includes “wear detection” that prevents it from taking photos when not worn, addressing concerns about privacy. The battery built into the device is 235mAh, with official data suggesting a daily usage life of up to 36 hours, with nearly 4.5 hours of continuous music playback. It also supports magnetic fast charging, allowing approximately 50% battery replenishment in 10 minutes, and can be quickly recharged using a power bank.
For calls and music playback, HTC emphasizes its stronger “sound leakage suppression” technology compared to competitors. While sound is emitted through an open speaker, HTC’s self-developed technology makes it difficult for outsiders to hear the content of calls and music, while also employing proprietary noise reduction technology to enhance call quality.
HTC emphasizes the sound quality of the smart glasses.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
With an open audio design and a directional microphone matrix, along with HTC’s self-developed noise reduction and sound leakage suppression technology, it improves call quality and privacy. It supports magnetic fast charging, reaching 50% charge in 10 minutes, with a battery life of up to 36 hours, and can be used while charging.
Software and AI Features
As an AI smart glasses, AI naturally plays the biggest role in the experience. The HTC VIVE Eagle utilizes HTC’s self-developed “VIVE AI platform,” which can connect to mainstream large language models like Google Gemini and OpenAI GPT, allowing users to switch according to their needs. The activation command is “Hey VIVE” or by pressing the button on the device, which awakens the voice assistant. A variety of features were showcased on site, including basic photo and video capture, translation of menus while traveling, and identifying nearby objects or buildings, allowing the VIVE assistant to inquire and provide voice explanations.
Menu translation application scenario while traveling.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
The smart glasses can free your hands while taking photos.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
After launch, it will support translations in 12 languages including Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and French. HTC also emphasizes that the traditional Chinese system has been specially calibrated by HTC’s engineering team to achieve a level of accuracy that is rare in the market, meeting the needs of Taiwanese users, while assuring that user data will be encrypted, and the system will not track user behavior or be used for any AI model training.
Market Strategy: Is NT$15,000 too expensive? Targeting the Taiwanese market
The reason HTC chose to launch smart glasses was explained by HTC’s Senior Vice President Huang Zhaoying, who stated that in the past, VR head-mounted devices were mainly used in gaming or enterprise scenarios and had not entered the daily lives of the masses. However, smart glasses, with their lightweight and natural fit, are more easily accepted by the market. “Aside from smartphones and smartwatches, the next wearable device that people will be willing to carry is smart glasses.” He believes that advances in AI services and voice recognition, combined with cloud computing and HTC’s years of accumulated wearable technology, enable the product to balance practicality and style, filling the current market gap.
The first product is entirely focused on the Taiwanese market, with the first batch launching exclusively in Taiwan on September 1. In addition to enhancing traditional Chinese capabilities, it also emphasizes “made in Taiwan.” Huang Zhaoying stated that even though HTC announced the sale of part of the VIVE team to Google, there remains ample R&D and production manpower. The team is not entirely new but consists of members from the previous head-mounted device team, and manufacturing will be handled by HTC’s own factory in Guishan, Taoyuan. The development process of the lightweight VIVE Flow head-mounted device laid a foundation for the team in producing glasses, allowing for a quick release of this new product.
HTC emphasizes that the VIVE Eagle’s first generation is entirely focused on the Taiwanese market.
Photo by: Sui Yuchan
The suggested retail price for the VIVE Eagle in Taiwan is NT$15,600. For comparison, similar specification smart glasses launched in partnership between Meta and Ray-Ban are priced at USD 299 (about NT$8,960). Regarding the perception of the price being high, Huang Zhaoying responded that HTC set this price point based on suggestions from distributors, believing that compared to the high-priced branded glasses on the market, this price is not particularly high. He emphasized that the VIVE Eagle has notable differences in multiple features such as multilingual support, call noise reduction, and long battery life compared to some competitors, thus providing confidence in its functionality and value.
HTC Senior Vice President Huang Zhaoying.
Photo by: HTC
Regarding the timeline for future smart glasses product releases, Huang Zhaoying revealed that due to the rapid changes in the market, hardware products are increasingly difficult to iterate on a “yearly” basis, and there may be plans for new products within months. He also emphasized that these will not replace mobile phone products, and the main research direction is how to enhance the collaborative capabilities between phones and glasses.
As for overseas markets, Huang Zhaoying admitted that they are still in the planning stage and have not set a specific timeline. One major reason is the significant differences in head shapes and wearing needs across different ethnic groups. For instance, European and American consumers typically have wider head shapes and higher noses, necessitating a redesign of the frame size, nose pads, and temple arms to ensure a comfortable fit when entering different markets. Additionally, a local system for eye exams, eyewear customization, and after-sales service must be established to ensure a good consumer experience. Therefore, it will take time to arrange overseas market launch plans, but they will definitely move towards the global market, with the Asian region potentially launching ahead of Europe and America due to closer facial and head measurements.
This article is a collaborative reprint from: Digital Age
Further Reading:
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