Lumus bought a significant increase in model recognition when considered one of its waveguides was chosen to be used within the Meta Ray-Ban Show glasses. However that already appears like previous tech now as a result of at CES 2026, the corporate introduced a few of its newest elements to the present and based mostly on what I noticed, they appear poised to noticeably elevate the optical high quality of the subsequent wave of high-end smartglasses.
When the Meta Ray-Ban Shows glasses got here out, they wowed customers as they had been (and nonetheless are) considered one of a handful of smartglassess to function a full-color in-lens show with at the very least a 20-degree area of view. However going by the specs on Lumus’ latest waveguides, we’re set for a significant improve by way of future capabilities.
In case you look carefully, you’ll be able to see the place gentle from the waveguide propagates into the one of many smartglasses’ lenses. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
The primary mannequin I attempted featured Lumus’ optimized Z-30 waveguides, which not solely provide a a lot wider 30-degree FOV, they’re additionally 30 p.c lighter and 40 p.c thinner than earlier generations. On prime of that, Lumus says they’re additionally extra energy environment friendly with the waveguides able to hitting greater than 8,000 nits per watt. This can be a huge deal as a result of smartglasses are presently fairly restricted by the scale of batteries they will use, particularly if you wish to make them small and lightweight sufficient to put on all day. Once I tried them on, I used to be dazzled by each the brightness and sharpness I noticed from the Z-30s regardless of them being restricted to 720 x 720 decision. Not solely did the rise in FOV really feel a lot bigger than 10 levels, colours had been very wealthy, together with white, which is commonly one of the crucial troublesome shades to correctly reproduce.
I needed to take a photograph of considered one of Lumus’ non-functioning smartglasses with the corporate’s 70-degree FOV waveguide, as a result of two out of three of the working ones had already broke and the final one which I used was being held collectively by tape. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
Nonetheless, even after seeing how good that first mannequin was, I used to be completely not ready for Lumus’ 70-degree FOV waveguides. I used to be capable of view some movies and a handful of take a look at photos and I used to be utterly blown away with how a lot space they lined. It was mainly all the middle portion of the lens, with solely small unused areas across the corners. And whereas I did discover some pincushion distortion alongside the edges of the waveguide’s show, a Lumus consultant advised me that will probably be doable to right for that in ultimate retail models. However make no mistake, these waveguides undoubtedly produced a number of the sharpest, brightest and best-looking optics I’ve seen from any smartglasses, from both retail fashions or prototypes or. It nearly made me query how a lot wider FOV these kinds of devices really want, although to be clear, I don’t suppose we’ve hit the purpose of diminishing returns but.
That is considered one of Lumus’ thinnest waveguides measuring in at simply 0.8mm. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
Different benefits of Lumus’ geometric reflective waveguides embody higher general effectivity than their refractive counterparts together with the flexibility to optically bond the shows to smartglasses lenses. Which means not like quite a lot of rivals, Lumus’ waveguides could be paired with transitions lenses as a substitute of needing to resort to clip-on sunglass attachments whenever you go outdoors. Lumus additionally claims its designs additionally simplifies the manufacturing course of, leading to thinner waveguides (as small as 0.8mm) and usually larger yields.
Sadly, taking high-quality images of content material from smartglasses shows is extremely difficult, particularly whenever you’re utilizing extraordinarily delicate prototypes, so that you’ll simply should take my phrase for now. However with Lumus within the means of ramping up manufacturing of its new waveguides with assist from companions together with Quanta and SCHOTT, it appears like there shall be a ton of smartglasses makers clamoring for these elements as momentum continues to construct across the business’s decide for the subsequent “huge” factor.
