tech
Smart Glasses Shift Daily Commutes and Workflows for Gold Coast Residents
Camera-free smart glasses from Realities are letting locals handle tasks hands-free while walking along the esplanade or working at beachside desks.
How we reported this
Gold Coast residents began adopting camera-free smart glasses from Realities last month, using the devices to manage emails and navigation while moving through Surfers Paradise without recording surroundings.
The timing aligns with rising demand for tools that cut screen time during humid summer weeks, when outdoor movement increases and phone use feels cumbersome. Realities designed the glasses around voice prompts and projected displays rather than cameras, responding to privacy concerns that have grown since 2024 in Australian cities.
Work routines along Cavill Avenue and Chevron Island
Freelancers at co-working spaces near Cavill Avenue now dictate meeting notes while heading to client sites on the Gold Coast Highway. Staff at the Gold Coast Innovation Centre in Bundall report using the glasses to pull up project dashboards during site visits to Broadbeach parks without pulling out phones. One local program, the city’s Digital Skills Initiative, added a July workshop on the devices for 120 participants.
A June survey by the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce showed 18 percent of surveyed workers in the Southport and Main Beach areas already own productivity wearables, up from 7 percent in January. Realities lists the glasses at AUD 899, with a two-year software update included.
Next steps for locals trying the glasses
Residents can test the devices at pop-up stations inside Australia Fair Shopping Centre through the end of July. The city’s tech meetup group plans a follow-up session on 22 July at Kurrawa Park to share setup tips for daily routes between Broadbeach and Southport.