These AR binoculars will tell you what you see in the night sky

Have you ever reached the end of a hike with a scenic overlook and argued with your friend about the name of a river miles away? I have. Google Maps wasn’t much help, but maybe if I’d had Unistellar’s ​​upcoming Envision AR binoculars to label those distant landmarks, we could have put those quarrels to bed.

Unistellar is best known for making smart telescopes, but the company is now returning to business as usual. Kickstarter roots to promote a pair of AR binoculars. The company promises that its latest device will be able to label objects and constellations in the night sky or point out hiking trails and distant landmarks on our Earth plane. If that sounds exciting to you, just know that the device can cost you upwards of $800, and that’s only if you get there early.

Like most of the company’s other stargazing devices, the Envision is supposed to connect to the user’s phone to access its GPS and Unistellar’s online database. The device contains IMUs to determine your location and angle. With all that data, the AR binoculars are supposed to send augmented reality information to a microdisplay contained in the right lens. So if you’re looking at a distant mountain, the Envision should be able to tell you its name, the distance to its summit, and perhaps local trails. Additionally, the company promises that you can hand the goggles to a friend, and the device should help them point to the distant landmark you were last looking at.

But you may not have access to this comprehensive online database when you’re deep in the woods. Unistellar says users can download local information to their device so they don’t need to rely on spotty cell service.

The company promises that the device should have a large database to be able to observe many distant landmarks or stars. Unistellar claims its database contains information on more than 1,000 distant nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. It is also expected to be home to more than a million landmarks on Earth, including mountain peaks, caves, springs and shelters. There is currently no specific list of locations, although the company has mentioned that the current GPS API does not work in China.

You’re sure to spend hundreds of dollars more on the Envision than you would on a regular model, quality pair of binoculars. Still, at least if you run out of battery with Unistellar’s 5-hour battery, you can still use them as binoculars with their 10X magnification and 50mm objective lenses.

Unistellar has a pretty solid track record with its telescopes, like last year’s eQuinox 2 and 2024 Odyssey. Both are next-generation smart telescopes that connect to an app on your smartphone to help you identify celestial objects or distant galaxies. These stargazing devices are among the most expensive smart telescopes you can buy, though Gizmodo reviewed several and found that they make up for that price in ease of use.

This is not to say that we recommend investing in any Kickstarter campaign, but that Unistellar has a proven track record of creating quality designs and following through on their previous crowdfunding campaigns. The device currently sells for $700 with the early bird special, but you’ll pay $800 if you sign up before the campaign ends on July 29, excluding shipping.

Production is currently scheduled for September with the first batch expected to ship in November. A second batch intended for latecomers will be shipped in December, barring unforeseen delays.

This is an expensive pair of goggles, of course, especially since it doesn’t have night vision, stabilization, or photo capabilities. Like any Kickstarter, you have to judge whether the promise of a cheaper price is worth it for an as-yet-untested product.