The most talked-about topic in the eyewear circle lately is undoubtedly NIMO’s smart glasses. By omitting cameras and speakers, this “subtraction” approach brings an (ultimate) weight of just 29 grams and an appearance “perfectly” close to ordinary glasses. However, the flip side is sacrificing a segment of users who actually want cameras and speakers. In the cramped cavity space of smart glasses, it has always been a case of “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
For daily scenery shots, walking the kids or pets, plus extended features like AI object recognition and price comparison, a camera is a definite must-have.
However, in formal occasions like work or business negotiations, a camera easily raises privacy concerns. Even if it’s not recording, the person across from you may feel awkward or uneasy.
Moreover, for weekend live streaming, high-definition video and long battery life become hard requirements.
So, is there a “have your cake and eat it too” solution? Modular add-ons for cameras, batteries, health monitoring, and a series of other accessories!
After all, Google tried modular splicing with phones. Although it failed, Transsion has picked it up again.
Google’s Project Ara (The Modular Phone) Google went for a fully modular splicing approach, which went somewhat against the integration trend of phones in 2016.
Transsion’s Latest Modular Phone The reason Transsion can make modular work is that it uses semi-modular, magnetic snap-on enhancements.
In the field of smart glasses, whether modularity can work depends on who is doing it. Strong hardware definition capabilities, a software-hardware integrated ecosystem, a massive user base, and brand appeal are all indispensable.
More importantly, does the path of functional enhancement via modularity in smart glasses have a foundation of demand that is incomparable to phones? (Given the small space, cramming everything in makes weight and battery life unsustainable; plus, there is an essential difference between wearing something on your head versus keeping it in your pocket.)
Apple’s latest patent, published on April 7th, reveals their thinking on modularity.
Refusing an “All-or-Nothing” Approach: Who Do You Want Your Glasses to Be Today?
Apple’s train of thought this time is very unique. Since current technology can’t stuff all top-tier hardware into a pair of ordinary frames, they simply decided not to.
According to the patent, Apple is developing a wearable device with a Universal Interface. The core framework might be extremely lightweight, responsible only for basic display and fundamental computing. But its temples and rims are full of “mechanisms.”
Want to exercise? Click, snap on a high-precision sensor module, and heart rate, blood oxygen, and even fine motion capture are instantly in place.
Want to live stream or vlog? Attach a professional-grade camera module to the side for high-definition quality, and swap in a pair of “battery temples,” doubling the battery life.
This Distributed Functional Design is a blessing for pragmatists. You don’t need to wear a heavy “all-in-one” pair of glasses every day just for that 10% of usage scenarios.
Core Tech: It’s Not Just About “Physically Sticking”
Many might say: “Isn’t this just a magnetic accessory? What’s there to get excited about?”
Don’t rush. The focus of Apple’s patent lies in “Dynamic Detection and System Integration.” This isn’t simple physical connection, but deep protocol interaction.
Hot-swappable: You don’t need to restart. The moment you snap on the camera module, the system UI automatically pops up camera controls, and the processor instantly allocates a portion of computing power to visual algorithms.
Unified Dispatch of Power and Data: The patent mentions very complex mechanical and electrical integration. This means these modules aren’t independent plugins but “organs” that share data with the glasses’ mainboard.
The “Physical Accelerator Pack” for Large Models: Imagine if you feel running a local LLM (Large Language Model) is too power-hungry or slow—could you snap on a dedicated lightweight NPU Acceleration Module? This plug-and-play computing upgrade would allow the glasses to switch between “ordinary assistant” and “super brain” in seconds.
Apple’s “Abacus”: The Ecosystem is the Sea of Stars
The lead inventor on this patent is Paul Wang, Apple’s Senior Manager of Product Design. Uncle Tim Cook recently bragged that Apple has accumulated 150,000 patents over 50 years; clearly, every patent is a piece of their layout puzzle.
From a business logic perspective, this move is extremely shrewd:
Lowering the Barrier to Entry: The base model glasses can be sold cheaper, allowing more people to put them on first.
Unlocking “Accessories Investment” Mode: Just like phone cases and watch bands, Apple might sell various functional modules in the future, or even license them to third parties (e.g., Sony doing camera modules, another company doing battery modules, health monitoring modules, neckband speaker modules, high-SNR microphone modules, ultra-wide/macro lenses, night vision/IR modules, gesture recognition enhancements, thermal imaging, industrial quality control recognition, etc., etc., etc.). This money truly flows endlessly.
Solving Lifespan Anxiety: The fastest-updating parts in electronics are chips and batteries. If the frame doesn’t need replacing and you only need to upgrade modules, user acceptance of high-priced items like AR glasses will greatly increase.
How Far Are We from “Modular AI/AR Glasses”?
Although a patent doesn’t mean the product launches tomorrow, it clearly points to a thinking trend for Apple’s smart glasses: Decentralization.
Future AI glasses should be a platform that changes according to the user’s scenarios. Just as smartphones defined functions through Apps back in the day, future smart glasses might define their identity through “modules.”
Just imagine: In the morning for a run, you wear “Health Mode” traveling light; arriving at the office, you clip on the “Efficiency Module” to start AR work; returning home at night, you swap in the “Audio-Visual Module” to watch movies. Isn’t that life much more interesting than the glasses we have now?
Finally, I want to ask everyone: What do you think about Apple’s smart glasses modularity? If Apple really releases this kind of modular glasses, what functional modules would you like to see expanded?
Welcome to leave a message in the comments, see you there!
Full text of the patent attachment is available for your reference if interested.
