Halliday, a wearables startup, has taken the tech world by storm with the launch of its revolutionary smart glasses at CES 2025. The innovative device features a 3.5-inch round display that projects into the user's line of sight, providing a seamless and intuitive experience. The DigiWindow, a tiny round module smaller than a pinky nail, sits on the inside of the frames just above the right eye, avoiding the need for pricey AR lenses and making the smart glasses more affordable and aesthetically pleasing.

The Halliday smart glasses offer a range of features, including real-time language translation for 40 languages, phone notifications, a cheat sheet with notes, and navigation directions. The device also boasts a "proactive AI assistant" that can provide helpful information about conversations in real-time, although this feature was not available for testing during the demo. The glasses' arms have speakers that can play music or read messages, further enhancing the user experience.

During a hands-on demo at the Ceaser's Palace Casino in Las Vegas, the smart glasses facilitated a bilingual conversation between the author and Halliday's founder, Carter Hou, with English subtitles appearing over Hou's right shoulder with only a second of delay. The device's ability to provide real-time language translation has the potential to revolutionize communication across language barriers.

The Halliday smart glasses are set to ship in March 2025, with preorders available this week for $369, a significant discount from the full price of $489. The company is also offering a control ring that can be worn on the index finger, allowing users to navigate through different features of the glasses with a simple thumb slide.

One of the standout features of the Halliday smart glasses is their sleek and classic design, which sets them apart from other augmented reality glasses on the market. The lack of cameras on the front of the device is a deliberate design choice, aimed at making the glasses more appealing to users who may be hesitant to wear smart glasses with cameras.

Despite some initial concerns about the safety of pointing the green light of the DigiWindow into the user's eye, Halliday's founder assured that the device is perfectly safe, and the author reported no discomfort during the 10-minute demo. However, it's understandable that some users may still feel uneasy about this aspect of the device.

The launch of Halliday's smart glasses marks a significant milestone in the development of wearable technology, offering a compelling alternative to prototypes from big tech companies with no commercial launch date in sight. With its innovative display, real-time language translation, and AI assistant, the Halliday smart glasses are poised to make a significant impact in the wearables market.

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