Tal Bar-Or, Founder and CEO of AI listening to eyewear startup Altina, says large tech is constructing sensible glasses the unsuitable manner – and mainstream adoption will stay out of attain till the business places design first.
Sensible glasses are having a second. Meta’s Ray-Ban line shipped 6.5 million models in 2025. Google confirmed Android XR audio glasses for autumn 2026, partnering with Warby Parker and Light Monster. Amazon’s Echo Frames have been out there for years.
But stroll down any road and also you hardly ever see somebody sporting a pair.
Tal Bar-Or, Founder and CEO of Altina, is aware of why. He labored on Echo Frames at Amazon earlier than founding his personal startup. He has watched large tech pour assets into sensible glasses — and miss the identical fundamentals every time.
“They’re compromising on privateness, compromising on fashion and vogue,” Bar-Or advised UC At the moment. “I feel it’s solely actually a half step from what I’ve seen.”
Design Like Eyewear, Not Like a Gadget
Bar-Or’s argument is simple. Sensible glasses must compete with common glasses on their very own phrases – aesthetically and virtually – earlier than any know-how layer issues.
One ignored problem is bodily match. Conventional opticians supply 1000’s of body kinds to go well with totally different face shapes. Most sensible glasses manufacturers supply a handful.
“A nostril in Europe is totally different than a nostril in East Asia,” Bar-Or stated. “In the event you put glasses made for anyone in Europe on a face of anyone in East Asia, they’re simply going to slip off.”
Altina has no electronics within the entrance body — a deliberate alternative that permits far better selection in kinds and sizing.
Listening to Enhancement because the Killer Use Case
Slightly than chase the “exchange the smartphone” narrative – a imaginative and prescient Bar-Or noticed fail first-hand at Magic Leap – Altina is targeted on listening to enhancement. Beamforming microphones assist wearers deal with voices in noisy environments.
“There might be a motive for them to put on our glasses,” he stated. Privateness issues already canine camera-forward rivals, making a non-camera strategy more and more engaging.
