Avegant Glyph first impression review at Selfridges

On Friday I posted about the fact that Avegant’s personal LED home cinema is now available at Selfridges. Later that day I headed ‘up West’ to try it for myself.

Let’s get one thing cleared up before I start. The Glyph is not a VR headset.

It might look like one, but it is more a personal screen. Well, cinema really.

Avegant Glyph tech

The wearable viewer uses low power LED projection. This beams images onto a couple million of microscopic mirrors.

The result is basically beamed in to your retinas.

This is said to mimic natural eyesight.

Why is this a good thing? Well, as it is more like your natural vision than watching your telly or being at the cinema, eye-strain and fatigue will be less.

It also brings a new level of immersive HD watching to wearers without the need for a screen.

Avegant Glyph face on

The Glyph is very comfortable to wear. It weighs just over 15 ounces.

The main weight is taken by the bridge of your nose. As a spectacle wearer, this feels totally natural.

Your ears also help, as they’re encased in the over-ear headphones.

Should you need to, you can also attach the supplied head-strap. This goes between the headset’s arms and rests atop your noggin.

Avegant Glyph eyes on

My demonstration kicked off with a test screen. You know I said I wear glasses, right? This is usually a problem whether it be VR headsets or any other optical device. Not so the Glyph. Each eye-piece can be focused individually.

So, even though I am remarkably short-sighted (I actually wear vari-focals as I’m now at ‘that age’) I didn’t need my specs to use this wearable.

This not only made it more comfortable to use, but it just adds to that more natural experience.

First up was a sample video without audio. The thing that struck me initially was just how crisp the picture was.

Some might turn their nose up at a mere 1280x720p resolution per eye. Believe me, if you can spot the pixels then you have super-human eyesight.

We then flicked a switch and moved over to some 3D visuals.

The usual suspects were here flying out the screen. It was fun and I was getting a little blasé about it all. That is, until a baseball was pitched at me and I actually flinched.

Yes, it’s good.

Avegant Glyph ears on

Being a wearable where patents have gone in for the optics I wasn’t expecting overly much from the audio. I wanted it to be good, but didn’t think it would be more than passable.

The Glyph is pretty darned good for the ears too, it turns out. It makes sense really when you think about it. What’s the point in offering awesome 3D visuals and not 3D audio?

I would have loved to have tested it with some Hollywood Blockbuster. Perhaps, soon 😉

Avegant Glyph first impressions round up

In this time of the VR bandwagon, I am quite relieved that the Glyph is something different.

Going on a trans-Atlantic flight? Strap this on your face and enjoy your own IMAX without the risk of someone’s head suddenly appearing in your eye-line.

Travelling to a meeting on the train but have confidential documents to check? Turn off your laptop screen and use the Glyph instead. Those important details will literally be for your eyes only.

Pin sharp optics, great audio and easy connection to your devices.

I was impressed at my first meeting. Stay tuned for a full review soon (hopefully).

Avegant Glyph price and availability

You can buy Glyph exclusively from Selfridges’ Smartech areas in London and Manchester.

The headset is priced at £529.99.