Straight from IFA 2025: L’Atitude 52°N Smart Glasses

dsmonteiro

If you’ve followed the wave of AI gadgets lately, you know there’s an ongoing trend of giving a dash of AI to everyday products, trying to graduate them as true “pocket assistant” — an industry’s shift from software-first to a strong focus on AI-powered hardware. The team at L’Atitude 52°N, a Berlin startup founded by former-OnePlus Gary Chen, is following suit: putting AI right into your eyewear. Instead of pulling out your phone for every interaction, their glasses aim to keep information, translation, and even guidance literally in your line of sight.

Freshly launched on Kickstarter, L’Atitude 52°N is now offering early bird pricing for backers ahead of its October 19 campaign close. That means you can secure a pair at a discount compared to the retail price later, while supporting the project in its early stage.

So, what’s inside these AI-powered glasses?

Built-in AI “Tour Guide” – Beyond basic voice control, the glasses run an assistant designed for travel. Ask questions, get live facts about landmarks, turning your glasses into a personal guide.
Real-Time Translation – The glasses can translate conversations on the fly, breaking down language barriers without needing to unlock your phone.
Audio & Voice Control – The glasses have dual open-ear speakers and noise-canceling mics that let you take calls, listen to music, or talk to the AI hands-free.
Offline Intercom Mode – An optional “Intercom” strap links up to 8 pairs of glasses together, turning them into a walkie-talkie network for hikers, cyclists, or group travel, completely offline.
12MP POV Camera (107° FOV) – While AI seems to be the star, you still get a wide-angle camera for quick photos and videos, including smart orientation switching between landscape and portrait.
Lightweight & Durable – At ~50 g, they’re built for all-day wear, rated IP65 for rain and dust, and come in three frame designs (Berlin 52°N, Milan 45°N, Antwerp 51°N).

Source: Kickstarter

In short, the idea is that the glasses become a seamless travel companion, not just another gadget to manage.

But the bigger question is: Do smart glasses like this appeal to you? Would you trade some of your phone’s role for an AI assistant that lives in your eyewear, or do you feel more comfortable sticking with the devices you already have?

Menguelez

dsmonteiro wow cool glasses, thanks for sharing David 😉👍

seriousjoker

dsmonteiro Thank you for the post and the links. I’m looking for a pair of smart-glasses and did not know about the CEO.. This makes this product more likely to get to market than others.

One interesting thing would be to know how they would compare to META and Xiaomi glasses.

Heyo

dsmonteiro They do look cool but I still think smart glasses are a solution trying to find a problem lol.

EniacLoona

dsmonteiro

They look pretty good. I wonder how independent they are from a cell phone. If it can perform those actions independently, or if it will really require another device to do the heavy lifting, and the glasses will be the interpreters. Thanks for sharing.

dsmonteiro

Menguelez happy to share. I know a couple of people involved in the project, including Gary C., from the times I used to work at OnePlus, so I feel like I can give some help by sharing awareness about the product.

seriousjoker there are at least three former OnePlus employees in the team, so they do have experience. Gary in particular worked in the OS and partnerships.

I’m still not 100% sold on the product category, and even if I was, I’m not entirely sure if this is the correct formula, but it seems like they have a clear understanding of what they want to achieve. And at 220€ for the early bird pricing, those aren’t expensive glasses, so I might give it a chance.

seriousjoker

dsmonteiro I agree, the price tag is interesting. Still (let’s forget it is a crowfund campaign and assume it would just be as buying a product for that price) I’m not entirely sure I’m up for a wearable which I cannot test and see on my face before buying. (In the past I’ve tested some tools as Augmented Reality “virtual” mirrors and still I think it is not enough).
Now let’s set that you don’t actually know for sure what you’ll be getting and when and I’m even more skeptical. I think I’d rather go Meta-Rayban and check the measure of the frame in some store.

dsmonteiro

Heyo true, I’m mostly aligned with that. I think there is room for a formula that works, but needs to do more than this.

The way I see it, it would have to be a cohesive ecosystem that would replace your smartphone. A smartwatch, AR glasses, earphones and compute unit combination that could give you more than the sum of its parts. But even then, what happens when ones of those parts is out of battery? Or you leave one behind? Or you need to interact with a bigger screen?

I think the smartphone formula is probably showing its age, but I don’t think anyone is close to figuring out what comes next.

dsmonteiro

EniacLoona from the description, their use as a single device seems to be pretty limited. That’s one of the reasons why I’m holding off on a purchase.

EniacLoona

dsmonteiro

Mmmm well, I understand you, that reduces my hype quite a bit