Dreamworld is back with another crowdfunded pair of augmented reality glasses called the DreamGlass 4K. With an improved 4K resolution and 5G connectivity, these are perhaps the perfect at-home entertainment system now that we're all spending more time than normal indoors.
Besides the 4K resolution and 5G, the specs match the previous DreamGlass Air very closely, with a 90-degree field of view and the ability to project the equivalent of a 200-inch screen in front of your eyes. That screen can show just about anything, from a computer desktop to a movie to a game.
Like its predecessor, the DreamGlass 4K can connect up to a number of devices – phones, consoles, laptops – via HDMI or USB-C (Galaxy phones will work, for example, but iPhones won't at the moment). With your own private AR display, you can be gaming from a console while someone else is watching TV, and the headset also has a 3.5 mm headphone socket to keep the audio to yourself.
Augmented reality experiences aren't quite so straightforward, as they need to be specifically developed for the DreamGlass 4K. Right now it's not clear just how much AR content is available, though the standard plug-and-play big screen projection feature is probably enough on its own to tempt people in.
The AR headset is lightweight too, weighing in at 185 g (0.4 lb), and it works fine for people who wear glasses as well. Dreamworld says you'll get about five hours of usage from each battery charge, which should give you enough time to get through a couple of movies.
Both augmented reality and virtual reality are waiting for their big mainstream breakthrough, although there are now more devices than ever to choose from. It's going to be interesting to see what VR or AR features Sony and Microsoft decide to offer alongside their next-gen console launches later this year, and Oculus should be due to launch new hardware in the not-too-distant future.
As for the DreamGlass 4K, the usual crowdfunding caveats apply – just because you put down some money doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to get a product at the end of it, although with Dreamworld's previous track record in developing AR headsets this way, this seems like a relatively safe bet.
The Indiegogo is running until the middle of August, and you can register your interest by putting down US$379 for a DreamGlass 4K headset. Shipping is currently scheduled to happen in September 2020.
Product page: Dreamworld, Indiegogo