Lightweight, smart and versatile: "Nose-On" of the new Myvu Imiki AR Glasses

Augmented reality glasses are nothing new on the market. However, only a few have made it to Europe - or even Switzerland. Myvu, a subsidiary of Meizu and manufacturer of AR glasses, wants to change that. The glasses, which go by the somewhat unwieldy name of MYVU Imiki AR Glasses, are designed to achieve this.

When I visit the stand at the IFA in Berlin, I realise that the AR glasses are actually surprisingly lightweight at 43 grams. Only slightly heavier than my own glasses. I let them show me the three key features.

Three key features: real-time translator, navigation and teleprompter

First, I am shown the real-time translation. An AI-supported dual-microphone setup filters out the ambient noise in the hall while the English-speaking brand expert talks to me. A German translation of "Aicy", Myvus Large Language Model (LLM), appears in green slightly out of my direct field of vision. It works perfectly. Nice. Even if I have to get used to not turning my head towards the text at first, but just squinting a little to the bottom left.

In the menu, which I can control either via the touchpad control on the glasses frame or directly via the Myvu app on my mobile, I could set many other languages.

What I can't change (yet) is to move said text a little more centred in my field of vision. "It's a legal requirement," the Myvu representative explains to me. People should have traffic and people in their direct field of vision when using the navigation feature, not the directions that also appear in green text. Incidentally, the built-in sat nav can be set to walking, cycling or driving mode.

The option to centre the text a little more will be added later with an update. I learnt this on enquiry. The legislation doesn't seem to have that much influence after all. TCL, for example, which is also present at IFA with its latest AR glasses, the RayNeo X2, doesn't care about such legislation. There, in its hall, about 50 metres away, the texts and images are displayed quite centrally - not exclusively green, by the way, but much more colourful.

The last feature shown to me is the teleprompter. This allows me to have a text displayed on demand, which I can read out in front of an audience without looking away. I could have done with that years ago when I was at school. I find the reverse function - namely that words spoken by others are displayed as text on the lens in real time - much more exciting. This makes it much easier for people with impaired hearing in particular to follow conversations.

Lightweight, compact, durable

The 43-gram lightweight should last a good day before the battery runs out. Except in sat nav mode. It should run out after three hours. The AR glasses can be fully charged in just 30 minutes via USB-C. Nice: Listening to music or making phone calls is possible via bone conduction. In other words, via sound waves that enter the ear without loudspeakers, but via the frame of the glasses. This means that ambient noise is always clearly audible, which is particularly important in traffic.

All the fun will be available from around October 2024 in the colours Space Black, Sky Blue and Sand Gold at a price of €599.99 each (RRP). Myvu is already in dialogue with a number of potential sales partners - including Galaxus Deutschland. But I can't make any promises. The Myvu app required to use the functions is already available to download from the app stores for Apple and Android smartphones.

The scope of delivery also includes a high-quality glasses case. Prescription lenses will be available in future from certified partners for an additional charge. I learn that talks are underway with Fielmann, for example. Until then, however, they also want to offer corrections and sun visors that can be clipped onto the frame. This has the advantage that the same glasses can also be worn by someone other than the person with the corrected lenses. <p