NEW YORK and MILAN—For the first time, EssilorLuxottica will exhibit at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2024, showcasing the company’s latest moves in new technology. Among the technologies which will be shown are the a preview of Nuance, from the EssilorLuxottica Super Audio team as well as Ray-Ban Meta, the Leonardo learning platform and HELIX, the company's new division announced earlier this year. As VMAIL reported in July, EssilorLuxottica announced it had made a strategic decision to enter the hearing solutions market. It will do this with "a new disruptive technology at the intersection of sight and sound," a dedicated Super Audio team and in-house R&D resources enabled by its 100 percent acquisition of Israeli start-up Nuance.

At CES Nuance will be previewed. (See video provided to VM below.) "Decades ago, EssilorLuxottica removed the stigma of wearing glasses by turning a necessary medical device into an iconic fashion accessory," the company said, adding that the company will exhibit in the Digital Health section of CES. "Nuance will be a pair of glasses with advanced hearing technology built in. Eliminating the stigma that has long been a barrier for traditional hearing aids, the audio tech here will be completely invisible. Nuance has the potential to improve quality of life for the 1.2 billion people around the world with mild to moderate hearing loss."

Stefano Genco, head of Nuance Audio at Essilor Luxottica, stated, “As we continue to drive change in the industry through innovation, we felt the Consumer Electronics Show would be an ideal platform to showcase our growing leadership. Nuance will completely rewrite the rules for hearing solutions and we believe those who experience it in our booth will immediately understand its potential for the 1 billion-plus people suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss.”

Fabrizio Uguzzoni, president of Professional Solutions, EssilorLuxottica NA, said, “Over decades, EssilorLuxottica has built powerful relationships with consumers and patients around the world, through our independent ECP partners and our own channels. We work to earn their trust every day by innovating, helping them see clearly and achieve a better quality of life. With Nuance we will not only reaffirm that trust, but we will once again reimagine what a pair of glasses can do for every person who wears them.”

EssilorLuxottica said in July as part of its open business model it will leverage traditional hearing aid channels as well as select optical customers and its own retail network to make this technology accessible to consumers in 150 countries. In the second half of 2024, Nuance will be available to independent ECPs and optical retailers in the U.S., a spokesperson told VMAIL.