HTC releases Vive Eagle smart glasses with privacy-focused AI features

What happened

In September, HTC began selling its Vive Eagle smart glasses in the United States for $499 [1]. These glasses include cameras for photos and video, speakers for calls and music, and an AI assistant called Vive AI, which can use Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT [1]. The glasses are available in two styles: one with rounded lenses and one with square lenses [1].

HTC has designed the Vive Eagle with several privacy features [1]:

• A bright indicator light near the camera shows when recording is active; covering this light prevents recording [1].
• Video footage is encrypted and stored on the glasses rather than being automatically sent to a phone or the cloud [1].
• Users must manually import media through an app [1].
• The AI assistant does not require a login, which HTC says keeps users “de-identified” to prevent services from retaining personal information [1].
• HTC states they do not train their own AI models or third-party models using data from the glasses [1].

Regarding battery life, the glasses provide 4.5 hours of continuous music playback or 36 hours on standby [1]. A clip-on battery pack called Power Boost is available for $49 [1]. The Vive AI Plus service is free for the first two years, after which it requires a $2.50 monthly subscription [1].

In a separate product line, Meta offers Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses, which lack cameras to address privacy concerns regarding visual data [2]. However, Meta faces different privacy challenges. Some Ray-Ban Meta owners have alleged that their glasses captured conversations without the “Hey Meta” wake phrase, with recordings appearing in the Meta AI app despite settings being disabled [3]. Additionally, Meta stores audio recordings, and US users can no longer opt-out of this [2].

Who is affected

• Consumers in the US can purchase the Vive Eagle [1].
• Ray-Ban Meta users have reported unexplained AI activations and audio recordings [3].
• Some venues have banned smart glasses, and several countries are considering measures to limit or ban the technology [2].