TCL officially launched the NXTWEAR G wearable display at Mobile World Congress last year, which essentially served as an external screen made large for a smartphone, tablet or laptop. The company improved on the idea for CES 2022 and has now hit Kickstarter with the latest flavor.
As before, much of the processing is undertaken by the device that the NXTWEAR S wearable display is cabled to over USB-C, which also provides the juice to power the 3.2-oz (93-g) glasses. The dual 1080p Micro OLED displays behind the lenses place a 140-inch virtual screen around 13 ft (4 m) in front of the wearer's eyes at 16:9 aspect to serve as a huge computer monitor, movie screen or gaming zone.
The combined view resolution is 1,920 x 1,080 for two-dimensional visuals, or 3,840 x 1,080 for 3D, users are offered a 47-degree field of view, the system supports 90% of the cinematic DCI-P3 color gamut, and the refresh rate is reported to be 60 Hz, so should be fine for casual gaming.
The NXTWEAR S comes with one pair of sunglasses-style lenses in the box, but two more are available separately to let more light through as desired. A magnetic support is included for folks to pop in prescription lenses, the wearable display comes with adjustable nose pads for improved comfort, and there's low-blue-light certification from TÜV Rheinland.
Brightness is adjusted via controls at the right temple, with a magnetic pogo-pin connector positioned farther back on the right arm for cabling to an Android or Windows source device (iOS users will need to use an adapter). On the left arm of the glasses is a volume wheel for the built-in speaker array, which TCL has positioned closer to the ears for more audio clarity, and there's a private mode to reduce high-frequency output to limit disturbance to others nearby. Users can of course opt to pair Bluetooth earphones directly with the source device instead.
"We receive incredible feedback from previous generations of the glasses and that plays a significant role in enhancing TCL product development," said TCL's Howie Li. "The NXTWEAR S has received some significant upgrades and we're excited to launch on Kickstarter to offer Super Early Bird buyers a discount before it becomes widely available in December."
A good fit for folks who have limited space at home or those wanting an expansive viewing experience while out and about, the wearable display glasses are expected to retail for US$569, but Kickstarter pledges on the already funded campaign currently start at $449. If all goes to plan, shipping to backers is estimated to start in December.
Source: TCL