Smart glasses are nothing new, but they are still too expensive or impractical for most people to use. Lenovo's new glasses might be different... whenever they become available to purchase.

The Lenovo Glasses T1, announced today, aims to be a "wearable private display for on-the-go content consumption." Unlike Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens, and other augmented-reality headsets, the T1 is just an external display for other devices -- it's not a standalone computer. The glasses aren't wireless, which means there's no battery to keep charged, but there is a cable that runs from the back of the glasses.

Lenovo says the glasses should work with anything that supports video output over USB Type-C. That includes many of the best laptops, the iPad Air and Pro, and some Android phones and tablets. There will also be an optional adapter for use with iPhones and other iPads with a Lightning connector.

The glasses have a micro-OLED display, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 for each eye and a framerate of 60Hz. That refresh rate would be too slow for virtual reality games, but the T1 is strictly for productivity work and regular gaming -- think of it as an external display, but straight in front of your eyes instead of on a desk or wall.

Lenovo has already sold smart glasses to businesses for corporate use, but the T1 appears to be the company's first glasses for regular buyers. Unfortunately, there's no specific pricing or availability information yet. The Lenovo Glasses T1 will arrive in China in late 2022, where it will be called the "Lenovo Yoga Glasses," and it will come to "select other markets" in 2023.

Source: Lenovo