Hello everyone,
I am a blind user from Germany and I will be traveling to Canada this August. While preparing for my trip, I came across the EchoVision smart glasses from Agiga, and I am seriously considering purchasing them while I am there.
Before making a decision, I would appreciate hearing from current users and anyone familiar with the product.
My main concern is long-term usability after returning to Germany and the European Union. As many of you may know, some AI-powered features of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, such as Live AI, have faced availability limitations in parts of Europe. I would not want to invest in a device only to discover that important cloud or AI services are unavailable or later become restricted in the EU.
I would be grateful if users could share their experiences regarding the following questions:
Are you satisfied with the EchoVision glasses overall?
Which features do you use most frequently in daily life?
How reliable are the AI and cloud-based services?
Has Agiga officially stated anything about support and service availability in the European Union?
Are there any regional restrictions currently affecting users in Europe?
Have any features become unavailable after software updates or policy changes?
If you were in my position, would you buy EchoVision today?
Have any blind users here used EchoVision extensively for navigation, reading, object recognition, or travel assistance?
Since I will only have a limited opportunity to purchase the glasses while visiting Canada, I would really appreciate any advice, warnings, or experiences before I make a final decision.
Thank you very much for your help.
Best regards,
Rêzan
Comments
Comments
I do not have the EchoVision Smart Glasses but I have listened to two different demonstrations of the glasses and have some thoughts on them. First, I do not like the voice. I generally like masculine male voices and the voice I heard was that of a woman who sounded rather sappy. Even if it had a voice I liked, I would personally not be rushing out to buy one. The glasses do not integrate with other apps on my iPhone, such as Apple Maps, Google Maps, Blind Square and Voice Vista. They do not seem to be able to layer on top of these navigation apps. The glasses also do not integrate with Oko, the traffic light detector for the blind that tells blind users when it is safe to cross a street. The glasses just have 13 megapixel cameras. In 2022, Apple introduced the first 48 megapixel camera on the iPhone 14 Pro. The glasses do not have optical zoom so they cannot look closely at something from a distance. The iPhone had this since 2016 with the iPhone 7 Plus. Optical zoom would be handy when trying to read the details of a sign. In terms of describing an environment, I have found Gemini voice mode with video streaming to be very useful. I have used it successfully to read my digital thermostat, the labels of bottles and cans, and the general contents of mail. I also have used it successfully to recognize a bus stop sign and read the contents of the sign. Both Gemini and Grok not only can read me the thermostat but tell me information from the Web about operating information for my particular model. Grock could read the small type on the ingredients label laid upside down on a tube of aloe vera gel and explained the benefit of each ingredient. In this way, Gemini and Grok in voice and video mode can offer context and detailed, rich information about what they are reading and describing.
As for AI and Germany, The European Union has become downright hostile to artificial intelligence technology and the large tech companies delivering highly innovative solutions. Because of the extreme EU regulations, Apple Intelligence is currently not available to developers in the EU as part of the iOS 27 beta test. That’s because the EU mandates all developers be given access to Apple AI but to do that Apple would need to grant access to the core of the OS, compromising user privacy and the stability of the device and OS. The other issue is that Apple has spent a fortune on Apple AI and does not want to hand it over to a third party for free under the claim of fairness.
Concluding, I have found Gemini and Grok both meet my needs for environmental audio descriptions. This is a first generation product with Google promising an AI glasses product and strong rumors from Apple that it will introduce one as well. I am content to wait until the second generation for more app integrations, more voices, better cameras, and better AI.
Agree with previous comment
Obviously, it's ultimately your decision whether to purchase the glasses or not. Personally, I have no interest. I've heard demos, and the voice sounded OK to me, but responses seemed to take a very long time. More importantly, I got burned buying the Envision Ally Solos glasses; actually ended up giving those away to a co-worker, and I have no idea if she's actually been able to use them or not.
I'm not saying that Agiga is anything like Envision, but until Apple releases their own glasses, whenever that ends up being, I fully intend to make do with my Gen2 Meta Ray-ban glasses and the camera on my iPhone 16.
I think it's outrageous and sad that the EU is so dictatorial with regards to AI and everything else. One would think that governments have far more important issues to deal with than policing AI and other technology, but what do I know?