Good lord they really needed a decent industrial design team on hand, though I guess no one's wearing this out in public, so good looks probably aren't as necessary. I'm just afraid of the image of people using this causing it to go the way of the Segway -- we all remember how Dean Kamen and team envisioned it revolutionizing intraurban transport, yeah?
Anyway, I'm glad to see something came of Magic Leap.
An insightful comment from Reddit: “Looks like they've limited your real world fov with the frames so it maybe matches the virtual fov you get. I guess shrinking your real world fov to match might be more immersive than a virtual viewport in the middle of it like the HoloLens.”
I agree they could do it in a much less ugly manner though.
I think the worse they look, the better, that way they can be developed to be useful in private and professional spaces, without anyone being tempted to take them out in public.
The thing will need some serious tech in it, there's really no way to make it not look ugly. I think aesthetics are somewhat overrated: If a device is useful, people (including the "cool kids") will use it regardless.
You're just wrong. Aesthetics are crazy important on consumer devices. I'd argue it is THE most important aspect on something you WEAR. People put an awful lot of thought into their clothes, and accessories. Some people don't care, but they're rare. If aesthetics didn't matter there wouldn't be 100 different clothing stores in the mall. When we choose what to wear, we're annoucing to the world who we are. When you wear a suit, you're sending a message to anyone who looks at you. When you wear a flannel shirt, and dirty boots, you're sending another message.
What is the message being projected if someone looks at you wearing these glasses? Probably not one a "normal" person would want to project.
Function matters, but don't overrate fashion. People deeply care about it, and will skip the function (no matter how great it is) if it makes them look like a dork.
Yeah this is why the SCUBA diving industry failed. Sure, everybody wants to breathe underwater, but if you have to look like a dork while doing it, then it isn't marketable.
No, it's you who has said something wrong. You're talking as if this device has no "aesthetics". As if skilled industrial designers didn't produce a design. The way you're talking raises doubts about your qualifications. But I'm going to put that aside for now.
Plenty of people thought the Walkman was futuristic because they were blown away by what it could do in that package. Maybe some of the more insecure people didn't start using them until it became sufficiently safe to be seen with one. But we're very lucky that in mankind there will be those one or two people who don't care what you think because you obviously can't see what they can see.
Imagine a hundred years ago if you came up with a fashion that involved having strings dangle out of your ears- It looks completely stupid and ridiculous.
Yet everybody does this every day in 2017 because headphones are super useful- Now we even think they'er fashionable!
I'm still amazed at some people's reaction to AirPods. They are small and sexy, but at the same time very weird to a large part of the population that isn't used to new things.
Anyway, I'm glad to see something came of Magic Leap.