Lenovo had a ton of new products to show off at this year’s IFA show in Berlin. If not for the Legion Go stealing the entire show for me, the Lenovo Legion Glasses would have been my pick for my favorite product at the show. They’re a pair of AR glasses that plug into anything with a USB-C port, and the glasses will display whatever content is being output superimposed in the center of your vision.
These glasses place the equivalent of a 27-inch monitor right in front of you, with each eye getting a 60Hz miniLED panel. Lenovo has been pushing these specifically as accessories to the Legion Go and the Legion 9i, but you can use them with basically any device capable of outputting video. There are speakers, brightness controls, and they’re incredibly portable too.
The Lenovo Legion Glasses surprised me
I’ve never been one for being excited by augmented reality, much because of how finicky it actually is to get right. Anyone can shove a tiny display close to your eyes and say it’s equivalent to a 27-inch monitor, but it’s another to make it comfortable, useful, and powerful. Lenovo has pulled that off exceptionally well in my (admittedly short) test of the product. I only got to use it for about 15 minutes, but it was a fun experience.
For starters, I used my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung DeX with these glasses, which is already closer to a desktop use-case for these glasses instead of a phone. I was able to watch YouTube videos, browse the web, and do a whole lot more too. I’ve been watching a lot of The Boys in recent months, and with its… questionable content at times, I can already imagine these glasses being great for private viewing when on public transport.
Of course, these glasses aren’t a headset, so you’ll still be able to see your periphery while using them. However, you can’t see through them, meaning that you won’t be walking around with them on you if you don’t want to bump into things. You’ll see out the sides of them so you’ll have a rough idea of where you are, though.
Lenovo is doing it right this time
This isn’t Lenovo’s first foray into glasses like these, but this time, the company is relying on the already-existing APIs and software to extend the display from a host device to the glasses. These will work with basically anything, including an iPhone with an adapter.
I loved using these glasses, and I can definitely see uses for wanting what is essentially a bigger display, while also giving me more options for watching movies and TV shows on the go. They’re not for everyone to be clear, and most people probably won’t need anything like these, but if you find yourself wanting a bigger display on your smartphone while out and about, then it might be worth picking them up or even trying to give them a go if you can.
The Lenovo Legion Glasses will be going on sale for $329 in October.