Rokid is bringing its latest AI-powered smart glasses to Canada, marking its first entrance into the North American market. Rokid Group Vice President and Global General Manager Zoro Shao says the company chose Canada to launch in North America because its among “the world’s most linguistically diverse countries, with other 400 languages spoken in communities from coast to coast.”
The everyday glasses can be worn with or without prescription lenses. For the latter, Rokid has partnered with Toronto supplier Ming Optical. The Rokid Glasses project information into your field-of-view, similar to a heads-up display (HUD) in a vehicle. This is accomplished through a tiny microLED engine and dual-eye monochrome display.
What can you see? Everything from directions while navigating, like walking through an unfamiliar city, to real-time translations in 89 languages, subtitles, and more. You can also interact with ChatGPT and Google Gemini to ask questions about the world around you, including leveraging the built-in 12MP high-definition camera. Along with capturing photos and videos on the fly (a green light confirms recording), you can use visual search and image translation. There’s also built-in private directional speakers for listening to music, hearing audio responses, translations, and more.
I had th chance to briefly try the Rokid Glasses at a launch event in Richmond Hill, about half an hour outside of downtown Toronto. With my brief interactions, they worked well for things like subtitles, capturing a speaker giving his address. Navigation was challenging to see, but I’m sure there are settings that can be adjusted. Audio was crisp and clear for its purpose.
Most notably, we got to see Torontonians who have been using the glasses for the last few weeks. They discussed advantages from being able to translate conversations with colleagues from overseas or while traveling to getting information about items you come across in your daily life. On a fun level, one discussed how fun it is to play games like Tetris with the glasses, using head movements and motion sensors to move pieces. The most impactful, however, was one man’s story of suffering from eye issues, including glaucoma, and working for years to get the right glasses to help with his vision. He discussed how these glasses have helped him gain back some independence with both their prescription lenses and integrated features like audio cues.
Alongside the device launch, Rokid introduced its AI Agent Store, a centralized platform where developers can create, share, and discover AI-powered features for Rokid Glasses, in Canada. Also launched was the Rokid AI UI, a cross-platform AI agentic framework specifically designed for AI glasses. Already available in international markets, the platform has attracted more than 3,000 submissions for new AI agent workflows and more than 400 published in the Rokid Agent Store. With its Canadian launch, Rokid is inviting local developers and creators to build new AI experiences and contribute to the growing community. Rokid Glasses will be available in Canada beginning September 1 for $999 but will sell for $899 through August 31 in celebration of the launch. There’s also the Rokid Ai Glasses Style without the built-in screen but with audio and AI access for $549, down to $499 for the sale period. The first 200 purchases of either device will also receive a free Rokid Capsule battery or a set of custom prescription lenses, both valued at $159.