NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AROTI today introduced R1, AI + AR glasses weighing less than 27 grams, and announced that its Kickstarter campaign will launch on November 16. Making its North American debut, R1 combines an understated eyewear design with a text display for conversation translation, presentation prompts, walking directions, and everyday reminders.
R1 displays green text in the wearer’s right-eye field of view and works with a compatible smartphone and companion app. It has no camera or built-in speakers. The focus is on giving wearers a convenient way to check useful information while leaving their phones in their pockets more often.
Ahead of the launch, visitors can explore R1 and click “Notify me on launch”.
First, a Pair of Glasses You Want to Wear
For something worn on the face, appearance and comfort are fundamental. A useful feature may prompt someone to try smart glasses; how they look and feel helps determine whether that person puts them on again the next morning.
R1 puts everyday wearability at the center of its design. Its clean lines and understated proportions are intended to complement a range of personal styles, whether worn at work or over dinner with friends. At less than 27 grams, it is designed for people who want the benefits of smart eyewear in a lightweight, familiar form.
AROTI’s starting point is simple: first, a pair of glasses people want to wear. Then, the intelligence they need.
Useful Information Without Taking Out Your Phone
Checking a translation or consulting a presentation note is a small task, but reaching for a phone can interrupt a conversation or break a speaker’s flow.
R1 brings those brief references into view. During a conversation in another language, wearers can read translated speech without continually looking down at a handset. When presenting, they can consult prompts without holding a script. Walking directions offer a similar convenience: the next instruction is available at a glance.
R1’s features include:
- Conversation translation: Translated speech appears as text in the display to help users follow an exchange.
- Teleprompter: Speaking notes remain in view during presentations, reducing the need to consult a phone or printed page.
- Walking navigation: Directions appear in view, with less need to take out a phone to check the route.
- Notifications and reminders: Selected updates and timely prompts are available in the display.
- Meeting notes: User-initiated audio recording and AI-assisted summaries help users revisit key discussion points afterward.
R1 complements a smartphone rather than replacing it. Its role is to make selected tasks easier to manage without a phone in hand, keeping users’ hands available and their attention closer to the activity in front of them.
Designed with Shared Spaces in Mind
The choices behind R1 also reflect where glasses are worn: in meetings, around a dinner table, and in face-to-face conversations.
Without a camera, R1 cannot take photos or record video. Without built-in speakers, it presents information visually rather than playing prompts aloud to people nearby.
R1 does include microphones for features such as translation and audio recording. Users choose when to start those functions. The camera-free design is a specific hardware choice, not a claim that the glasses have no recording capability.
Together, these decisions support AROTI’s approach to everyday eyewear: practical assistance in a form that feels natural to wear around other people.
Launching November 16 on Kickstarter
The AROTI R1 Kickstarter campaign opens on November 16, 2026. Readers interested in their first pair of AI glasses can visit here to learn more and receive launch notifications and early-bird information.
Pricing, reward tiers, supported features, and estimated delivery details will be published on the official campaign page when the campaign opens.
Some features require a compatible smartphone, the companion app, and an internet connection. Availability may vary by language, region, and software version.
About AROTI
We make smart hardware. Our first product is a pair of glasses, and every pair is made to the standard of eyewear first: weighed, fitted, finished at the edges. What we couldn't do properly, we left out. R1 weighs 27 grams. One line in the right eye, gone once read. No camera, no speaker — not because we couldn't, but because we didn't want it getting in your way. We're not selling more features. We're selling a little of your time back. AROTI is based in Hong Kong. Learn more at aroti.ai.
Media Contact [Meldoy Z. / AROTI.AI] [info@aroti.ai] [https://www.aroti.ai/]
