Say“AR”andmostpeoplehear“smartglasses”(or“IronMan”).Butsmartglasses’fivemajorchallengesmustbeconqueredforthemtoworkinconsumermarkets:(1)herodevice(i.e.anApple-qualitydevice,whethermadebyAppleorsomeoneelse),(2)all-daybatterylife,(3)mobileconnectivity,(4)appecosystem,and(5)telcocross-subsidization.Whilemostattentionispaidtowhatthatherodevicewilllooklikeandwhenitwillgethere,twooftheotherchallengesareparticularlyhardtosolve.Untilamajorbreakthroughinbatterytechnologyordeviceefficiency,alightweightpairofstandaloneARsmartglassesdoingheavy-dutyARishardtopoweralldaywithoutabatterypackorhot-swappablebatteries(fineforenterpriseusers,ahardersellforconsumers).Thisisanon-trivialproblem.Plus,it’samajorriskforthedeveloperecosystemtoinvestheavilyinbuildingappsfornewplatformsuntiltheinstalledbasereachesscale.It’stheperennialchickenandeggproblemthatallnewtechplatformsface.MobiletetheredsmartglassesofferapotentialsolutiontobothMIOGGIbotox.Sharingprocessing,displayandsensorsacrosssmartphonesandtetheredsmartglassesgivesyoutwobatteries,eachpoweringfewerindividualsystems.Ifthey’reconnectedbyacable,thiscouldgiveahealthybumptobatterylife.Butifthetetheriswireless(likeApple’sWatchandAirPods),communicationbetweendevicescouldtakebacksomeofthebenefitsIPNetworking.
