These smart glasses are adopting one of the worst trends in tech

Smart glasses are still a niche category of wearables that most people are happy to look at from a safe distance. Some people naturally think they’re a bit scary, but even for those who find them interesting as a concept, you’ll need a pretty good reason to actually buy a pair. One company might have offered the opposite, as the new L’Attitude 52°N Berlin smart glasses only include the AI ​​features for 12 months before a paid subscription kicks in if you want to keep them.

The Berlin Glasses will go on sale on May 26 for $399 wired)Photochromatic lenses come with additional cost $50. That would be all well and good, but not only does subscriptions start taking a year, but L’Atude 52°N still hasn’t said how much it will be. We only know that buyers who don’t pay after the first year will be limited to basic features like music playback and media capture.

If the company’s sales pitch about the device is accurate, it’s not like you’ll lose out on some extra benefits if you don’t pay — the AI ​​is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. L’Attitude 52°N is pitching these as travel-friendly smart glasses, with features like AI tour guides and live translation helping to justify the whole idea. It’s a little harder to sell that vision when the clever bits are attached with a one-year timer.

There was a way to reduce this subscription fee, but it is no longer available. kickstarter backer They were promised lifetime free AI access, so they wouldn’t face additional fees in the future. It’s a nice reward for supporting the project early, but whatever subscription price L’Atude 52°N ultimately fetches, post-launch buyers can help subsidize that lifetime benefit.

The specifications of Berlin glasses are reasonable. It has a 12MP camera, 32GB storage, open-ear speakers and 1080p video recording. Those specs aren’t top-tier in the smart glasses category, but they’re not unreasonable for the retail price. However, unless they at least know what the long-term AI bill will be, many potential buyers may be hesitant to hand over their money.