Auto-focus
Do auto-focus glasses work?
They’re the flying cars of eyewear: always a few years away.
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The short answer
True autofocus glasses use electronic lenses that change power when a small current runs through them. They need sensors to guess where you’re looking and a battery you have to charge. They’ve been a few years away for decades, like flying cars. Readers sold online as “auto-focus” or “smart zoom” are ordinary progressive lenses with a clever name. What helps today is a lens designed for the distances you actually use, with nothing to charge or break.
The promise
What autofocus glasses promise
The pitch is easy to like. You look down at your phone and the lenses switch to reading power. You look across the room and they switch back. There’s no corridor to find and no second pair to carry.
Making that work takes a lot. The lens needs a liquid crystal layer that changes power on command. The frame needs sensors that work out what you’re looking at, plus a battery and a charger. All of it has to react as fast as your eyes do, all day long.
The catch
What comes with the electronics
- A battery
If it runs down in the afternoon, you’re wearing glasses that have stopped focusing.
- A guess
Sensors have to decide what you meant to look at. Your eyes already know.
- Parts that can fail
The electronics ride in a frame you drop, sit on and wear in the rain.
- A long wait
Like flying cars, they’ve been nearly ready for a very long time.
Sold as auto-focus
Auto-focus readers sold online
Most readers sold today as “auto-focus,” “smart zoom” or “adjustable focus” have no electronics at all. They’re progressive lenses, with reading power at the bottom that eases off toward the top. Where you look decides what’s sharp.
The catch is the range. A lens that tries to cover everything from your phone to the horizon has a narrow clear corridor with soft edges on both sides.
What actually works
Lenses designed for what you need to see
You don’t need glasses that think. You need lenses designed for the distances you spend your day at. EV6™ focuses from 18 inches to 6 feet, which covers your phone, keyboard and monitor. Because it stops at six feet, its clear corridor is far wider than a standard progressive’s.
EV20™ reaches 20 feet for the house and the office. EVinfinity™ reaches all the way out for driving and time outdoors. There’s nothing to charge or pair with your phone. We digitally surface each lens to your measurements in California.
Our three ranges
Where each lens is sharp
EV6
18 inches to 6 feet
It covers your phone, keyboard, monitor and the person across the desk. It stops at six feet, so it has the widest corridor we make.
About EV6EV20
20 inches to 20 feet
It reaches from a book in your lap to the far side of the room, for moving around the house or the office.
About EV20EVinfinity
Near vision and all the way out
It has reading power at the bottom and clear distance through the top, for driving and time outdoors. Its corridor is narrower than EV6’s, closer to a standard progressive.
About EVinfinitySee the difference
EV6 at the desk
On the left, a standard progressive that reaches the horizon. On the right, EV6, which stops at six feet, so its corridor runs nearly edge to edge.
The same desk through two lenses. EV6 stops at six feet, and the width it saves shows up as corridor.
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Customer reviews
What customers say
“2nd Pair - Great Experience Both Times”
2nd pair - same great experience. Consistency matters.
“Great glasses…yet again”
This is my fourth pair from Lens and Frame and their EV Readers are amazing. Highly recommend this company.
“Outstanding Exlerience”
Even before I received my glasses, the customer service and communication were great. As someone who probably needs a prescription, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the effectiveness and usability of the L&F lenses. The…
Great looking and functional pair of glasses
“Perfect!”
These are something that you really don’t know how much you need, until you’re wearing them. They’re a game changer for me!
“customer service”
maybe one of the best customer focus companies around. very responsive, very polite, and great communication. i'd give 6 stars if i could
How they’re made
Made to your measurements in California
Digitally surfaced
The curves for your power are cut into a single lens blank by computer-guided equipment, accurate to a hundredth of a diopter.
A full stack of coatings
An anti-reflective layer stops the bounce-back glare. Oleophobic and hydrophobic layers keep fingerprints and water from sticking. A hard coat protects against scratches.
Edged for your frame
A multi-axis edger cuts each lens so the power sits exactly in front of your pupils in the frame you chose. We inspect the lens at every stage. If we find a blemish, we start over with a fresh blank.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Do auto-focus glasses work?
True electronic autofocus glasses are still early. They need sensors, a battery and charging. Readers sold online as “auto-focus” are progressive lenses, which work within their range.
Are there glasses that adjust to your vision automatically?
Electronic ones are still early. Most glasses sold that way are progressive lenses: the power changes down the lens. Where you look decides what’s sharp.
Are EV Readers™ auto-focus glasses?
No. Nothing in them moves, charges or guesses. Each EV lens is designed for a span of distances, with reading power at the bottom easing off as you look up. EV6 and EV20 stop at 6 and 20 feet, so their clear corridors are much wider than a standard progressive’s.
Which reading power should I order?
Order the power you’d use to read a book or your phone up close. That full power sits at the bottom of the lens. The lens eases it down for your screen and the room. If you already wear drugstore readers, their number is your starting point. Which power to order walks through it.
What if they aren’t right for me?
You have 30 days from delivery to return them for a full refund, with a prepaid label. Within 60 days we’ll remake the lenses at no charge if the power or measurements need adjusting, or exchange them for a different frame style, color or lens option. Start any of these through the contact form.
Readers with Range
Lenses made for what you need to see.
Made to your measurements · Free 3-day shipping · 1-year scratch warranty
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