A handful of unverified photos have revealed what appears to be a never before seen pair of AR glasses from Lenovo.
Images published by known leaker ‘WalkingCat’ have revealed the new AR headset, sporting the Lenovo’s ThinkReality badge, its enterprise-focused AR/VR product line.
We haven’t verified the authenticity of the photos, so it’s a mystery for now whether they’re mock-ups, internal prototypes, or production-ready AR glasses. The leaker WalkingCat hasn’t specified anything else about the AR headset in question, however there’s a few salient details we can guess just by looking at them.
The AR glasses appear to be tethered on the left temple, suggesting it could have a dedicated compute unit that users can pocket, such as Magic Leap 1. Considering Lenovo’s ThinkReality product class is enterprise-focused, it’s possible it will connect via a dedicated compute unit, or even the class of mobile work PCs the company is best known for.
The headset’s near-eye optics sit behind the glass frame. From the photos it’s not exactly clear whether the headset makes use of waveguides like Microsoft HoloLens 2, or birdbath optics like Nreal Light. The lack of heavy lens shading points to waveguide optics, which are more costly and difficult to manufacture, but typically provide better brightness.
From a straight-on shot, we get a cleared view of the headset’s optical sensors; there appears to be three main optical sensors, two on the left and right end pieces and a single sensor on the bridge. Possibly two additional sensors can be seen behind the exterior lenses, however it’s uncertain.
There’s also a closeup of the right end piece sensor, which is likely for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).
On the right temple you can see what looks like a volume rocker and possibly a textured select button in the center. A large nose piece looks capable of keeping the headset well off the user’s face.
WalkingCat has been a reliable source of leaks over the years. Before their official announcements, the user revealed Oculus Quest 2, HP Reverb G2 and HoloLens 2.
Lending further credence, the device also seems very similar to a pair of prototype Lenovo AR glasses we saw in November 2019, which were unveiled at Lenovo’s Tech World conference in Beijing, China. Those haven’t made their way into production yet, so it’s possible we’re seeing a final iteration of the company’s next AR headset, which could even supplant the enterprise-focused A6 headset, the company’s HoloLens 2 competitor.
Since CES 2021 is coming up soon, it’s possible Lenovo intends on showing the device for the January 6 – 9 event, albeit digitally since the physical portion in Las Vegas was cancelled back in mid-summer.
Thanks goes out to Antony Vitillo of SkarredGhost for pointing us to the news.