Sunday Runday
In this weekly column, Android Central Wearables Editor Michael Hicks talks about the world of wearables, apps, and fitness tech related to running and health, in his quest to get faster and more fit.
This week, I wore augmented reality glasses that showed my pace, heart rate, power, and other stats in the corner of my vision while running, the data ported over from my Garmin Fenix 8. While I don’t think the hardware is quite there yet, it’s enough to excite me about the future possibilities.
I need more time to review my ENGO 2 AR glasses properly, but the concept fascinated me when ENGO pitched their running HUD to me. Would seeing real-time stats with just a glance inspire or distract me?
The design is best suited to cyclists who need to keep their eyes on the road and off their watch or bike computer. However, there’s a reason why so many runners rely on audio prompts to display their stats, without having to break stride and look down at their wrists.
So, I wore these smart glasses on some hilly runs and hikes, using stats like elevation gain and average ascent speed to motivate myself to keep pushing, plus my average heart rate to see if my training load focus would fall into low/high aerobic or anaerobic zones.
My main takeaways? Like most AR glasses, this running HUD’s design and visibility require some improvement, as does the software. However, when we start to see glasses with lighter frames and wider field of view (FoV), fitness-focused smart glasses could become a real use case.
