Razer's new concept headphones have built-in cameras and all the AI you need

Razer is no stranger to showing off cool concept ideas at trade shows like CES, including stuff like a high-tech facemask and a climate-controlled chair. This year, the company has something equally innovative to share in the form of Project Motoko. At first glance, you’d assume that these were simply a pair of Bluetooth headphones, but underneath you’ll find an incredible amount of AI-powered smarts.

Although many companies have been pushing the idea of glasses using AI, AR, and other cutting-edge technologies, Razer feels that headphones are a better choice for AI wearables. While you won’t have a display to augment the world around you, Project Motoko is still very much aware of its environment, thanks to its Dual FOV cameras with 3K/60 spatial video capabilities. You’ll be able to ask Motoko a variety of things by saying “Hey, Motoko”, including weather requests, direction information, general questions, and more.

The inclusion of camera technology also means you can ask for relevant information about objects, locations, and people as well. There’s also universal AI platform compatibility for ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, and several others.

It’s important to note that many of these Razer concepts never actually make it beyond the demo stage, though some of them later return in a different but related commercial form. It’s unclear if Razer actually has any ambitions to make the Motoko a real product, but it’s certainly a unique take on AI augmentation. Of course, bulky headphones aren’t any less obstrusive than smart glasses, we’d wager, but it’s certainly possible that future innovations could allow for much smaller and more discreet headphone or earphone-based solutions.

While this was far from the only thing that Razer showed off at our briefing, the focus this year was mostly on AI, accessories, and the introduction of a high-end AI Dev Workstation that’s a little out of our audience’s wheelhouse.

One other thing that caught our eyes was the new Razer Wolverine V3 BT gaming controller. While it looks like any ordinary Bluetooth controller and can certainly be used that way, it’s primarily optimized with newer LG TVs in mind. Once connected to your TV, the controller will be able to stream your favorite games with sub-2ms latency via Bluetooth.

This is no cheap knock-off controller either. Not only does it offer low-latency support, but you’ll also find anti-drift TMR thumbsticks and dual-mouse click back buttons.

Keep in mind that only low-latency-capable LG TVs will support the controller; however, other brands will eventually roll out models that will work with it as well. It’s also fully compatible with Android, PC, and anything else that supports Bluetooth controllers. No pricing or launch details just yet, though hopefully we get those details in the not-too-distant future.