If the glasses can name people from your contacts, it's only one more step to name and recognize everyone it can including strangers, including showing any related info like reddit aliases (known and suspected), reputation in some reputation tracker or even criminal history, favorite alcoholic beverages and other interests to help with dating... enough people don't want that so they'll ban AR devices and punch out people they catch wearing them. This stuff is already going on to varying degrees, but mostly businesses watching people. Getting people watching people and really kicking off AR needs, besides the tech, more assurances that no one can tell you're watching. I agree there wouldn't be much adoption barrier for having to wear hardware, so many people wear glasses and sunglasses and hats all the time anyway, the barrier is just being inconspicuous.

At one point there was an Android app that could identify strangers. They nerfed it so that it couldn't do that anymore. I'm sure they could do the same for the glasses.

But yeah, that's why it would have to be real subtle.

Wasn't it an app by a Russian guy that looked on the social network for people's name? I think it served as a brilliant demonstration of the current state of privacy.

This sounds like an amazing idea for a Black Mirror episode

> that would help me be less awkward at social gatherings

And how do you think the people you are "talking" to feel when you're constantly occupied with your AR glasses? :)

Hopefully they would be subtle enough not to be distracting. Like my smart watch. :)

It's worth pondering why Google Glass totally failed as a consumer product before we get too excited about this.

google glass wasn’t really AR the same way that arkit is.

glass was more of a novelty camera you wore on your face. it was extremely unfashionable, and quickly became associated with “people trying to record you” and invasion of privacy in general.

i think if apple releases some kind of headset, it will look more like regular eyewear. it will also unquestionably be for augmented reality. society probably won’t conflate it with someone trying to snap candid shots like glass.