Alexa integration, new Styles, and more!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 02, 2021 at 01:05:49 AM

Hey backers!

We're happy to announce that we're continuing to launch new features across our product lines, and we wanted our Kickstarter backers to be the first to know.

Alexa, powered by Native Voice

We're excited to introduce you to Alexa integration in the Vue Android app, powered by Native Voice, an on-demand voice services library. This integration allows you to connect your Vue Android app to Alexa to enable you to check the weather, make to-do lists, control smart home devices, shop online, and much more—all through your glasses. Note that this feature is currently only supported on Android phones, due to iOS limitations on default voice assistants.

To enable this feature, in the updated Vue app, simply go to the Controls tab to connect to your Amazon account, and select Vue as your default voice assistant when prompted. The Vue app with Alexa built-in will then serve as the default voice assistant that you can launch directly from your glasses, with either a long press or double-tap on the touch panel.

Some things you can do with Alexa integration:

• Check the weather
• Search for restaurants nearby
• Add items to your shopping list
• Buy extra toilet paper
• Look up a Wikipedia article

Initially, Native Voice will only be available through the Vue app and compatible with the first generation Vue Pro (i.e. what you all crowdfunded on Kickstarter!). We plan to roll the service out to our other lines, including Vue Lite and products that are in our launch pipeline.

We're excited to reach out to our backers first about this new feature. We'd love to hear from you! With Vue Smart Glasses, we believe that the glasses we wear each and every day will serve as highly personalized, seamless computing platforms. With this Alexa integration, we can expand the tools that Vue users have access to.

Vue Lite

It's been great to see the responses to the new Vue Lite line. We've received lots of feedback since launching last year, and wanted to share what customers are saying!

New Frame—Leo!

Our goal is to make smart glasses that can fit everyone's tastes. This means that we'll be periodically releasing new styles to expand our offering. To that end, we've just released our latest style for the Vue Lite, called the Leo!

We love the Leo for its comfort and simplicity. Its striking steel browline and rectangular frames offer a timeless look suitable for any occasion. It is available now for purchase!

Discount for Backers

Remember that all Kickstarter backers can use their Kickstarter email + the code THXBACKERS for $20 off a pair of Vue Lite.

As always, we'll keep backers in the loop for new announcements regarding the product pipeline. More to come soon 😉

Cheers,

team Vue

Introducing Vue Lite
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 25, 2020 at 09:54:47 PM

Hey backers!

Welcome to a special update! Introducing Vue Lite—our lightest, comfiest smart glasses yet. Everything about the Vue Lite has been shaped by backer feedback. And we are excited to share it with you all. 

Vue Lite comes in three styles—the Cygnus, Orion, and Lyra. We'll be launching more styles as the year goes on. One of the biggest changes is with respect to comfort. Vue Lite weighs 23 grams and the back of the arms are thinned and contoured so that they curve over the top of the ear. We know with the original Vue Glasses, the thickness of the arms meant for some people they could feel quite thick on the ears—Vue Lite's design is thinner to prevent this. 

We've also switched from bone conduction to directional audio. The reason for this is that it provides clearer, louder volume with a smaller footprint than a bone conduction transducer. Bone conduction also requires constant pressure to conduct sound, which also felt too tight to some backers. Directional speakers don't require contact, and thus alleviate this issue. 

The name—Lite—also implies some other big changes. Namely, the glasses do not require a connection to an app. Instead, they pair directly to your phone. This means Vue Lite is far easier to use and pair, improving upon a lot of pain points expressed with backers with respect to pairing problems on the original Vue Glasses. 

Simplifying the glasses also means the design can be thinner and lighter, which in general just makes for a pair of smart glasses that is even closer to traditional eyewear. Launching Vue Lite doesn't mean we're leaving other more advanced features behind. Rather, we see Vue Lite as its own line of simple smart glasses that focus on simplicity, lightness, and comfort. More advanced features, in the form of a Vue Pro, will be the next evolution of the original Vue Glasses and are already in process. 

Backer Discounts

All backers get $20 off, bringing back the original $159 early bird price to all who supported us initially to make Vue possible. The code is THXBACKERS. A note—this code is tied to the email you used to pledge! That means only our backers can use the code and you must enter the email you used to back us when pre-ordering!

Thank you!

Thank you all for your support, detailed feedback, and enthusiasm for this space. We've seen a lot of players rise and fall and we hope to be around for the long term thanks in part to such an awesome crew of early adopters. 

As always, we can be reached at [email protected]! 

With love,

the Vue team

Upcoming Release
over 4 years ago – Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 11:50:54 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Something New—Sneak Peek!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 03:35:57 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

April Update: Adapting!
over 4 years ago – Thu, May 07, 2020 at 11:00:01 AM

Hey backers!

It took a bit longer than normal to write an update this time as we worked to adapt to the ever-changing environment of the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy across the globe, as we know these are tough times. In this update, we'll dive into how the pandemic is impacting our operations, how we're adapting, what we're working on, and some standard updates for backers. Let's dive in!

COVID-19

As we wrote in our January update, we had just begun to feel the effects of the outbreak with our supply chain in China. Our offices were closed virtually for an entire month and thus we had several weeks where no product was able to be pulled from our warehouses and shipped. Our vendors were also impacted, and remain impacted, though over the past few months they have resumed operations, albeit some only at partial capacity.

Just as we resumed work at our China operations, COVID-19 began to impact the US. Our office in California has been subject to a shelter-in-place order, meaning we have been unable to access those facilities, and will not be able to until later in May, per the government's orders.

Thankfully, we are still operational, though we have had to change a lot of how we operate in order to cope with the current environment. Here are the biggest impacts on us so far:

1.  Repair/replacement/warranty services suspended: Our US office serves as one of the hubs for our repair services. Unfortunately, until we are allowed to return to work, returned units remain inaccessible. If you have a replacement pending, we ask for your patience while we wait for the shelter-in-place order to be lifted. As soon as we can go back into the building, we'll swap lenses into replacements, repair glasses, and send them back out. 
2.  International shipping disruptions: We ship direct from our factory in China, and international logistics are quite chaotic. Governments around the world have been imposing lockdowns and changes to shipping regulations with no notice, sometimes suspending shipping channels altogether. Some of our parcels remain in limbo at ports while customs agencies iron out the rules. We've had to seek out other companies and freight operators to work with just to make routine shipments. In some cases, shipping lanes have extended lead times from less than a week to nearly four weeks. We are also seeing incredible price increases of up to 3x standard costs. Big shipping companies like FedEx, UPS, and DHL are still fairly reliable, but the costs have become prohibitively expensive in this environment. We now only have 1-2 shipment pickups per week from our warehouse, and depending on your region, actual delivery times may be longer than what you are used to.

Like virtually every company in the world right now, we are doing our best to make sure we can continue operating, innovating, and delivering products. It is an extremely tough environment to work in, and we are working diligently each day to make sure things go as smoothly as possible given the circumstances.

App Updates

We have released a series of app updates across Android and iOS recently to make the pairing flow easier and more stable. We have also added Apple Health Kit integration and Google Health integration.

We also recently changed the pairing flow to make each step clearer. We've also fixed various typos, added dark mode functionality, and more. We still have bugs we are working through with our developers which will be fixed in subsequent app updates. If you have anything you'd like to raise with us, please email us at [email protected] so we can make sure our developers can prioritize it.

Outstanding Shipments

If you have not received your reward please email us at [email protected]. We still have backers who have not sent us their prescription details, or who have not completed their initial survey to get their reward. We have sent several emails regarding this, so please check your spam if you have not received it. We will continue sending emails each month to remind backers. The only way we can ship a reward is if backers provide us the details necessary to make their frames and lenses—so please reach out if you do not have it!

What's next?

We are now focusing on three primary areas:

• Improving V1 based on feedback from backers
• Fulfilling old rewards as backers provide their information
• V2 development

Having learned a lot and suffered considerable delays with V1, we're approaching V2 quite differently this time. As things progress, our backers here will be the first to know. When beta programs are available to test early V2 units, our backers will be the first ones to have access.

As things move along, we'll turn off public access to our Kickstarter updates to prioritize backers first. We'll let you know when there's more to share!

Support

We can only conduct support via email. We cannot conduct support over Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Kickstarter messages. You must email [email protected] for support.

We receive hundreds more emails than normal immediately after posting updates, so we apologize if it takes longer than expected for us to get back to you!

Until next time!

With love,

the Vue team