- Neat way to watch shows
- Great sound
- Quite heavy on your face
Growing up, it seemed like the future would have computer screens on the sides of our vision, allowing us to remain connected and even work or browse while doing literally anything else. VR headsets have come along and are quite bulky, and we've seen smart glasses start making their way to the market. The TOZO VIZO V1 smart glasses are a pair of AR glasses that display your phone in front of you, without needing your eyes on it.
My first impressions of the TOZO VIZO V1 were quite unsure. These glasses are on the heavy side, though clearly full of technology. They do need to be connected, via USB-C, to a device in order to display it. These two things combined do mean that you won't be wearing them casually while doing other activities, being connected to the digital space while remaining in a virtual world.
The glasses themselves are easy to use - you just plug and play. Two dials on the top bring the image in front of you into focus. Your phone could easily go in your pocket with the length of the cable as well. If you rotate your phone, the screen rotates as well, so that you can see everything the right way around.
The sound quality in the TOZO VIZO V1 is fantastic. There are little speakers that sit right by your ears, allowing you to really hear what is being shown on your glasses. I find this to be extremely fun to watch a video while also typing up an article, like I am doing right now, with the video on the top half of my vision and this article on the bottom half, so I can look between the two. You do need to be a multitasker to do that, though!
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The display itself feels quite high-quality and crisp, while still allowing you to see through it. There is an 1800-nit display, with high contrast visuals, so you can wear them indoors and outdoors where there is more light. You can also switch between 2D and 3D viewing to enhance the depth of these glasses, which is interesting too.
I feel that I would mostly be using the TOZO VIZO V1 while in transportation, due to the limit in what I can see in front of me and how I tend to work. I do find the cable to be the most annoying aspect of them, but they do feel better than a gimmick and like they are only a step away from being something I might regularly use. It also is a bit weird to have sound this way, as it can be heard by everyone around you. There isn't a way to interact with what you are seeing beyond taking your phone back out - but maybe that's okay too!
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The TOZO VIZO V1 are an interesting idea and a neat concept, though they do feel let down by the wire that comes with them. I do like the idea of seeing a bigger screen while you are in transit, without needing to have a big area taken up by a computer or tablet. You don't even need to charge it either.
Jupiter Hadley
Jupiter is a prolific indie game journalist with a focus on smaller indie gems. She covers thousands of game jams and indie games on her YouTube channel, letting every game have a moment in the spotlight. She runs indiegamejams.com, a calendar of all of the game jams going on in the world, and judges many jams and events. You can find her on Twitter as @Jupiter_Hadley