5G
LG U +: 5G CONTENT AND AR GLASSES
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Augmented reality ( AR ) glasses have had a spotty history . Google ’ s ill-fated Glass project launched way back in 2014 , to a decidedly mixed reception ; Last year , Microsoft released the second version of its Hololens headset which , at $ 3,500 , will probably only find a home in the commercial sector - or with the US military ; Google even quit on its VR and AR hardware ambitions in 2019 , making its Cardboard headsets open source ; and Snap , the company behind the popular social media app Snapchat , launched its third attempt at a popular set of AR glasses back in November of last year , but has since failed to generate any lasting traction . From limited applications to high price tags , a number of factors have conspired to prevent AR glasses from gaining any real foothold . 5G might be about to change all that .
In June , LG U + announced that it has set a date for the release of its upcoming AR glasses offering : Q3 2020 . Developed in collaboration with Chinese AR startup Nreal , the device will , according to U +, be the world ’ s first AR glasses to be commercialized in a businessto-consumer ( B2C ) model . They weigh 88 grams , and will only support Android-powered devices . The company hopes that the product will attract more users to its 5G service , and has been pouring money into 5G content creation over the past year - even partnering with Google at CES 2020 earlier this year .
SEPTEMBER 2020