All posts tagged: tradeoff

I finally found a pair of smart glasses that last all day, but there’s a trade-off

I finally found a pair of smart glasses that last all day, but there’s a trade-off

Published by skeptic

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Solos AirGo A5 are available now, starting at $249. They don’t have cameras, instead opting for a ChatGPT-powered AI assistant and speakers. Audio quality leaves something to be desired. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Smart glasses have exploded in popularity over the past two years, thanks to their ability to incorporate cameras, AI assistants, and speakers into a practical form factor. However, the Solos AirGo A5 takes a different approach, shedding the cameras for a more discreet design. Also: CES 2026: These 7 smart glasses caught our eye – and you can buy this pair now First available in October of 2025, Solos is positioning the AirGo A5 as lightweight, comfortable smart glasses with hands-free AI assistance and a long-lasting battery. As a result, the target audience differs from that of the popular Meta Ray-Ban glasses, which are geared more towards content creation, as these are more intended for the AI enthusiast.  Yet, they are still an investment, with the cheapest frames costing $249, so I put them …

Why shiny flowers are rare: bee vision reveals a hidden visual trade-off

Why shiny flowers are rare: bee vision reveals a hidden visual trade-off

Published by Jenni Sidey

Nature’s most dazzling colors can be strangely rare. Walk through a park or forest and you see greens, yellows and reds that feel soft to the eye. Most of those tones are matte. Only now and then do you spot a buttercup petal or beetle shell that flashes like polished metal. That contrast caught the attention of evolutionary biologist Casper van der Kooi. He wanted to know why glossy colors are uncommon, and what that means for the animals that rely on color to survive. So he turned to bees, artificial flowers and a simple question that leads to a surprisingly deep answer. Matte Signals and a Stable World In your mind, picture a daisy, a great tit’s feathers or a small tree frog. Their colors stay steady as you move around them. Matte surfaces scatter light in many directions, so the shade looks almost the same from every angle and in most lighting. The researchers tested the impact of shininess on visibility for bumblebees in an experimental cage. Full cage left, on the right, …