LLVision is an AR company that might not exactly be a household brand, but it still took to Las Vegas to bet on a niche that it feels is currently underserved: Real-time translation. At its CES showcase, the company unveiled a new pair of AR glasses called the Leion Hey2, a sequel to its original Leion Hey.
LLVision touts the Hey2 as the “first professional AR translation glasses”, but what exactly makes it professional? According to LLVision, it’s speed. The glasses are designed for face-to-face conversation, with a translation time of less than five seconds in real-world conditions; this includes characteristics inherent to live conversation like brief interruptions.
Another part of LLVision’s pitch is the Hey2’s battery life, up to six to eight hours of continuous use, and 96 hours of total use with the charging case. It also weighs 49g, not exactly the lightest but still within the weight realm of normal glasses.
And of course, there’s language support – over 100 languages and dialects (you can find the full list here). The accuracy is touted to be 98%.
Instead of a camera, the Hey2 uses four microphones built into the glasses to detect who the wearer is talking to.
Image: LLVision.
As for the AR part of the glasses, when translating, subtitles will appear on its MicroLED display. The Hey2 detects who you’re talking to not through a camera, but via a four-microphone array that’s spread around the front, back and sides of the frame that allows it to suss out who you’re facing, and thus which person to translate.
It also comes equipped with an AI Q&A feature for quick queries, and there’s a companion app for the Hey2 as well, with features including transcripts and weekly data reports.
The Hey2 does lack external speakers, though LLVision says that this was intentional, in order to keep the glasses discrete and allow the user to focus on conversation (and out of privacy and battery life concerns, too). It’s at this juncture that we should point out some drawbacks the glasses have; for instance, the Hey2 can’t work offline.
Admittedly, that’s not much of an issue in this day and age, but prospective buyers should also note that one of LLVision’s pre-order deals include “1,200 minutes or Pro translation service”. What the Pro service offers isn’t clear yet, though we won’t be surprised if some features are gatekept by paywall.
Pricing and Availability
LLVision’s Leion Hey2 is currently only available in the US via LLVision’s official store, and costs US$549. Pre-ordering the glasses between 6 and 31 January will net buyers a S$50 discount, along with that free 1,200 minutes of Pro translation. The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play Store.