Values in Story: Even Realities G2/R1 - A Storyteller's Review

I do a lot of preaching and storytelling in churches, schools, camps and other places.

The G2 Smart Glasses are a game-changer!

Links:

G2/R1 Smart Tech - https://www.evenrealities.com/smart-glasses

Polarized Fit Over Sunglasses - https://amzn.to/3MVBSjD

Stick-on Bifocal Lenses - https://amzn.to/4ryf88l

Script:

These are the second-generation smart glasses from Even Realities - the G2s. Most people see a pair of sleek, titanium-framed glasses. Those in the know see non-invasive tech that provides visual access to your notifications, news and notes. Stepping up the capabilities, Even has added AI to the G2s which provides greater immersion in the world around you through visual translation of any language to written English, live and laggless or, if you spend most of your time in your own language, you can use Conversate to subtitle the people speaking around you. As the conversation continues, AI jumps in providing a summary, action points and even a to-do list for meetings.

While all these features are helpful and great at impressing your friends, I have a very different reason for using and loving the G2 smart glasses. As a professional storyteller, the G2s set my hands, eyes and body free to perform. The G2s are the ultimate tool for public speaking. I’ve been using my G2s—along with the R1 smart ring—to deliver full-length sermons. As an early adopter, I expect issues with my new tech.

But a simple Teleprompter should need very little help. All it needs to do is load a text file (a few bytes in size) from the G2 memory and scroll. Right? Not at Even Realities. They need to get AI in the mix - why? And they want the phone app to control the file - across Bluetooth - why?

Unfortunately, the G2s more trendy AI tools like Translate and Conversate get the lion’s share of the tech team’s attention. I can imagine, with the complexity of AI, languages, listening, and transcription The G2s would have their fair share of bugs to work out. So they focus their tech time there.

The Teleprompt App is simple. It displays a file, on the glasses and moves along at an AUTO set Word-Per-Minute rate, manually with the ring or an external clicker, or (cring/horror) using AI to listen to you read and follow along. Why? Because we can!

If Even Realities just did away with the AI mode (which is annoying anyway) and kept it like a real teleprompter, the tech is minimal. In early tests, I ran into freezing and black screens—not what you want when you’re halfway through a script in front of 200 people. I tried so many things. Finally, I discovered that the only way to ensure 100% reliability is a Fresh Reboot of my phone. Before every single performance, I shutoff my phone and boot it up again. This clears the cache and eliminates unnecessary background processes from other apps, and gives the Bluetooth a fresh connection. Since I started doing this, I haven’t had a single crash on the first use of Teleprompt. The second try is another story. No seconds! Just restart everything every time! If you’re using these for high-stakes speaking: Reboot first.

This past Saturday, I preached for two services using the Teleprompt App with a reboot before each presentation. Everything worked perfectly! I felt a bit cheeky using the glasses without letting people know, so I did. Here’s the disclaimer before I started.

Afterwards, everyone wanted to talk about the glasses, try them on and discuss the content of my sermon. That was the one thing that really stood out for me - more people engaged with the sermon because I engaged with them from the stage. People said it felt like I was talking to them, not reading at them. Because the script is floating right in my line of sight, I never lost eye contact, was able to look from side to side at different parts of the audience and kept a steady pace.

I talk fast. The sermon I preached a couple of weeks ago clocked in at nearly 200 words per minute for 32 minutes! For the audience, that’s an intense listening session! I divided the word count in the YouTube transcript by the number of minutes in the sermon video - 199.75 words per minute! People have often say I speak too fast! Now I believe them!

So, I set the Teleprompt App to 140wpm. This pulled me back from Mach 3 to Mach 1. And it was noticed. One elderly lady said, “Thanks for going slower today. I followed everything.” My 26-year-old son said, “You should do voice-over work, that was amazing!” I had never considered a teleprompter could help my pacing. But, it really does. I’m reading this script to you at 140wpm. Nice, right?

Now for the fun stuff. The G2s are great, but there are a couple of things mine can’t do.

The Outdoor Sunglasses. While you can turn the brightness up to “painfully bright”, the G2 screen is not ideal when backlit. Direct sun is tough. Dappled light is sketchy. I found a pair of over-sunglasses that fit perfectly over the G2 frames. They protect the tech and keep the text crisp even in broad daylight. I’ll put a link below for the sunnies.

The DIY Bifocals. I need a +2 zoom for reading. But, I bought distance lenses in my G2s. So, I ordered a pair of half-moon +2 reading glasses, snapped off the arms, and carefully inserted the lenses into the G2 frame. It worked but was flimsy. I also bought some +2 plastic bifocal inserts. At first, they were blurry. Then, someone said, “Spray the glasses with lens cleaner spray before applying the stick-on lenses. I can read comfortably through them now. They are not as good as proper glasses, but they will do while I’m wearing the G2s.

The R1 ring is the unsung hero here. It is very nice to subtly scroll through the menus, news items, and G2 apps. The only other option is the trackpads on the arms of the G2, which is neither subtle or convenient. Also, when using Auto Teleprompt, the ring allows you to scroll back or forward in your script.

So, that’s a storyteller’s review of the Even Realities G2 glasses and R1 ring. Are they worth it? Absolutely! Will there be a learning curve? Yes. Do they do other things? Sure, there’s a navigation app, an AI chatbot, notifications that automatically pop into view of new email headers, text messages, phone calls and any other app notifications you choose. You will want to turn off Notifications while using Teleprompt - imagine accidentally reading a text from your wife while doing a presentation! Also, you’ve got a clock, your calendar, a to-do list and the weather strapped to your face. So, less reaching for the phone.

While I don’t wear them as daily drivers (I should have ordered multifocal lenses), I do wear them a lot! The G2s are easily the best wearable tech I’ve ever owned.

If you’re a preacher, teacher, storyteller, or just a tech enthusiast, don’t let the early-adopter hurdles scare you off. A quick reboot and some DIY hacks and all is well!

Thanks for watching—now go tell a better story!