心地とインターフェース

A little while ago, I bought a pair of smart glasses called Even G2. A colleague was using them, and they looked interesting. My English is not very good, so I also wondered whether they might become something like one of Doraemon’s futuristic gadgets for me. I tend to buy things on impulse when they offer a new kind of interface to try, and Even G2 was very much one of those purchases.

The design of the glasses themselves gave me another reason to buy them. Even G2 looks quite close to an ordinary pair of glasses, and to my eye, more refined than other smart glasses.

Even Realities, the company behind Even G2, was founded in 2023 and is based in Shenzhen, China. Reading its website, it seems the design began with the idea that “smart glasses must be glasses first.” The technology is housed in a 36 g frame made with magnesium and titanium, based on familiar eyewear shapes such as Panto and Square.

Rather than changing the shape of the glasses to fit the technology, the team apparently settled on a form that worked as everyday eyewear first, then made the optical system small enough to fit inside it. In Even G2, the optical system is about 45% smaller than comparable off-the-shelf models, and the lenses are 30% thinner than those of the previous generation.

Text and information appear in the lenses, letting you read transcriptions and translations of conversations, maps, and notifications. There is a Micro LED display for each eye, but no camera, by design. Even Realities explains this as a choice to value being present in the moment over recording it.

After giving them a good try soon after buying them, I did not have much occasion to use them. Recently, though, I had a chance to listen to a short session in English, and for the first time I thought, “This really does help.”

The English I was hearing was being translated in my field of view, almost in real time. Just having the words I missed filled in on the spot was very reassuring. It felt as though my body’s abilities had been extended a little.

Translation is not limited to English; more than 35 languages are supported. If I get the chance, I would like to talk with someone whose native language is different from mine while we both wear Even G2, each speaking our own language. I would speak Japanese, and the other person would speak theirs. Even so, we would each see the other’s words translated naturally in front of us. I would like to experience that at least once.

A smartphone can translate in real time too. But to read the translated text, I have to look away from what is in front of me and down at the screen. With Even G2, the translation quietly overlays the scene while I keep looking ahead, so I can stay focused on listening to the session.

I think many people feel they spend too much time looking at their phones. On the train, at home, sometimes even while walking, I can end up staring at the screen for ages if I am not careful. Before I notice, I am paying more attention to the screen in my hand than to the scenery or the people around me.

I would like to enjoy the scenery more, be present in the moment, and take time with the people I am with. I do not mean giving up my smartphone. I just wish I could find a slightly more comfortable distance from technology.

What felt new about Even G2, more than the features themselves, was that sense of distance.

The information on display is minimal, and the only colour is green. When I thought of smart glasses, I imagined a UI with all sorts of information floating in view. Even G2, though, is a very quiet interface.

The green-only display seems to be a deliberate choice too. For Even Realities, being futuristic is not about adding more information or stimulation, but about “subtraction.” The company says it chose a high-contrast monochrome display to help people focus more on the physical world, aiming for an interface that appears when needed and disappears when it is not.

Of course, there are still things that bother me. Operating them takes a fairly precise tap on the arm of the glasses, and until you get used to it, they do not always respond as intended (you can also use a separately sold ring called Even R1, though I do not own one). In some areas, connection lag is noticeable too, and things do not always work as I would like.

I think smart glasses still have a long way to go. Even so, there was something new about leaving the scene in front of me as it was, with a layer of information quietly added over it.

Personally, I hope that as technology advances, I can spend more of my time without being conscious of the technology itself. I would like interfaces to blend further into our surroundings, rather than keep asking for our attention.

There is an idea called “Calm Technology,” proposed by Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown in the 1990s. As computers become part of every corner of our lives, they need not remain at the centre of our attention. Instead, they can move between the centre and the periphery as needed. The idea was proposed around 30 years ago, before smartphones existed, but I feel I can imagine it more tangibly now.

Something that helps naturally when I need it, without making me face a screen or consciously operate it all the time. That is the kind of distance I would like. All the more so when I think about how AI will probably find its way into all sorts of things and places.

Smart glasses are not the only answer, and there are still plenty of practical difficulties. But they leave the real world in the foreground, waiting quietly most of the time and offering a hand just when it is needed.

I felt I had caught a small glimpse of that kind of future interface.