When Benjamin Franklin invented the bifocal lenses almost 250 years ago, he made a solution that really stood the test of time, but has now been outdone by modern tech.
IXI from Finland has made glasses with autofocus lenses via sensors that tracks your eye movement, and then liquid crystals change in the lenses, thus changing prescription on the spot. This is a major step forward for people having difficulty with both near and far away objects who are otherwise forced to use bifocal lenses or similar solutions, but all of them require the user to focus at a specific area of the glasses in order to utilise the secondary magnification area.
These solutions tend to be expensive, requires the user to have a learning period, and still suffers from distortion of the peripheral view, even with modern varifocal lenses that have a smooth transition between magnification areas.
The dynamic lenses from IXI claims to be able to give you near, far, and intermediate usage with the same lens, and the ability to use almost the entire lens depending on usage, with IXI claiming that close-up vision, while not covering the entire lens, will be in "a more optimal place", with far distance usage utilising the entire lens area.
IXI expects a launch within the next 12 months, with pricing being "high end". This may be due to the fact that the 75 employees has had a $40 million funding, but do need some income in the future.
The glasses are very light, the latest prototype being just 22 grams, and the charging is fully magnetic and hidden in the frame.