Envision, a company dedicated to enhancing accessibility through technology, has teamed up with eyewear brand Solos to introduce a new line of smart glasses tailored for individuals with blindness and low vision. According to Envision, the Ally Solos Glasses incorporate a camera and can perform tasks such as reading and translating text, providing descriptions of surroundings, conducting online searches, and recognizing various objects, people, and signs. Information is relayed to the user through open-ear speakers integrated into the frames.
Available for pre-order at a promotional price of $399, the Ally Solos Glasses are being offered at a reduced rate from the original price of $699. Customers can select from two frame sizes—regular and large—and a color palette that includes black, gray, and brown. Pre-order shipments are anticipated in October 2025.
The new glasses are built upon Solos’ existing AirGo Vision frames, which debuted in December and offered their own vision recognition capabilities via the GPT-4o AI model from OpenAI. The Ally Solos model replaces the GPT-4o with Envision’s proprietary “Ally” AI assistant, leveraging multiple foundational AI systems, including Meta’s Llama, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity, as stated on the Ally website.
The innovative AI functionalities are accessible by pairing the glasses with the Ally app on iOS or Android via Bluetooth. The glasses boast a robust IP67 rating, ensuring protection against dust and water. They come with USB-C chargeable ear stems that provide “up to 16 hours of active use” per charge, with a complete charge taking around 90 minutes. A quick 15-minute charge can yield approximately three hours of battery life.
Smart glasses have begun to integrate accessibility features widely, with Envision previously offering assistive eyewear based on the now-discontinued Google Glass technology. Additionally, AI visual interpretation capabilities from the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have gained traction within the low-vision community. The effectiveness of the Ally Solos Glasses compared to more affordable options like the $299 AirGo Vision and Ray-Ban Meta is yet to be determined, particularly considering that the $699 retail price is significantly higher.
