While they do have a previous project in the Monocle, I am very skeptical that these glasses will be shipped anytime close to the current date (the 15th of April), considering they have only one video [0] that shows these glasses outside of renders. Add to that, the singular piece of content showcasing these glasses in the real world in no way inspires confidence; there is no way to tell whether this is merely a simulation, recording through the glasses, etc. Add a bit of shacking to a video of a cake and some text overlay, cut to a few seconds of you wearing some glasses beforehand and the result would look identical.

If the first batch of preorders (not even just reviewer samples) are going to be shipped in mid-April, production would have to ramp up some time soon, and the final hardware should be fixed, so why not show us that in action? Also, I am very much not an expert, but the camera sensor and pinhole in front of it seem too small for what would be demanded of the two, and I struggle to see how such a small MicroOLED panel could yield the massive high-resolution images [1] and nearly full lens coverage they showcase in some of their images, especially considering my previous experience with competitors [2]. Even more astonishingly, they claim an IPD range of 58-72mm, which also raises my skepticism quite a bit.

Also, they don't seem to limit the first batch to a single color, even though that is generally recommended to limit manufacturing complexities during batch releases, and they take orders for prescription lenses. Producing three distinct colors with the many variations of prescriptions and getting that shipped by Mid-April, makes this all even harder to swallow, especially at such a low price.

Lastly, their "Specifications" [3] aren't really what I'd normally consider as such. I am a firm believer that products of this type can be more than the sum of their parts, and a certain "je ne sais quoi" can often not be read from merely looking at specs, but still, I'd feel much better if something tangible was listed.

If this product (specifically the part about covering the majority of the lens with display content [1]) ends up real or even anywhere close to that, I'll be the first to purchase it, even if the final price ends up significantly higher. Heck, I'd settle for a new release of Norths Focals with their tailor-made (as in uniquely fitted to one wearer) design, small sweet-spot and low resolution.

But as it stands, I can't really say I have a lot of confidence in them delivering. I hope that this is a case of ambition and overly optimistic enthusiasts that will end up pulling through (after some delays) for the sake of anyone who bought in. If that is the case, I'd advise the creators, both for their personal sake and to help their preorder customers retain confidence, to release as much uncut, directly captured footage as possible. It doesn't have to (in fact, shouldn't) be overly fancy. Considering their focus on being open-source and the people that tends to attract, I find it surprising that this isn't their mode-of-operation in the first place.

Lastly, I have found a picture of what appears to be an early prototype [4], which has a far smaller display section, much more in lign with what seems possible using the design they showcased in that exploded view, as far as my understanding of how this tech would work goes [5].

Should they execute on what they promise with those renders in terms of display area and resolution, I'll be more than happy eating a large helping of crow.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXXTwv3sXto

[1] https://imgur.com/TtunqYQ

[2] Personal experience: XREAL Air 2 Pro (MicroOLED), Viture One (MicroOLED), Meta Quest 2 (LCD), Meta Quest 3 (LCD); I only retained the Quests after testing

[3] https://brilliant.xyz/products/frame

[4] https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd....

[5] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39321973