All ·
Future Friday ·
Future News: Could Smart Glasses Change How You Consume News?
An easier, more seamless way to stay up-to-date
Today’s media landscape is chaotic – that’s no secret. Smartphones, tablets, desktops and laptops have replaced the 6 o’clock news for billions.
While there are ways to control when and where you receive news updates, devices aren’t exactly user-friendly.
The average smartphone user wouldn’t use the word “intuitive” when describing how to limit the number of push notifications that Instagram, Twitter and other apps use to steal their attention.
Could Smart Glasses change this, helping users track current events with greater ease?
READ: Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Dream: How Smart Glasses Could Drastically Improve the Hospitality Industry
How Smart Glasses could improve how you consume the news:
Stop pushing
Those regular notifications on your phone are annoying, aren’t they? Your phone buzzes, but it’s not a friend’s text or email waiting. Instead, it’s a news update. What if these interruptions were regularly broadcast in the corner of your eye? With Smart Glasses, it would be easier for users to take control of the apps and news outlets that steal their attention. A simple “stop news notifications” could do the trick...which would be much easier than navigating the settings of your smartphone.
Less distractions
A phone’s purpose has changed. Not long ago, its primary function was connecting you with friends and loved ones. Now, corporations pay tech companies great sums of money to keep your eyes on that screen. As a filter between the virtual and real worlds, Smart Glasses could allow us to eventually receive updates while on the go or navigating work sites, meaning there’d be limitations on how often news outlets and apps could ping users. Simply put: you’d get pinged a lot less. Making things easier: all notifications could stop if the GPS senses you’re moving. After all, safety comes first.
Can’t-miss updates
Notice how social media feeds can seem overwhelming? The same goes for most news sites. Right now, Vuzix devices keep all notifications in a designated section to limit user distraction. Since humans aren’t natural multitaskers, consider this innovation a glimpse into the future.
Speak your mind
Customizing your news experience on Smart Glasses could be hands-free, as Vuzix devices can already be controlled with sophisticated voice technology. Simply say “delete news source from feed” and you’d never hear from them again. As it stands, doing the same on your smartphone isn’t so easy.
The digital era is defined by connection. The next chapter could be defined by customization. Smart Glasses would give users more power over the algorithms that decide the content they see.
A promising forecast
Although most people rely on the digital world to stay up-to-date, finding the truth is increasingly difficult.
Smart Glasses could realistically help, forcing news outlets and social media platforms to serve you better. Plus, it’ll be easier to consume info as headlines could be displayed one-at-a-time while users perform other tasks.
Videos, soundbites or even articles could be navigated by mechanics while they work. You’d no longer have to dedicate all of your attention to a computer screen or smartphone to stay up-to-date.
Your screen could follow you around, without intruding on your day.
In the end, users will have more resources to customize news experiences. Smart Glasses will bring us closer to the digital world (literally displaying it before our eyes). You’ll even be able to listen to the news or read blogs discreetly while wearing the hands-free devices.
Do you think augmented reality (AR) and Smart Glasses could improve the way you stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the world?