Control Your Vision with a Fingertip! What Are WAVE's Slide-Adjustable Sunglasses?

WAVE, a brand primarily known for its contact lenses, launched its revolutionary "slide-adjustable sunglasses" in 2023. These innovative glasses allow users to adjust the lens tint across five levels with a simple slide of the right temple. What prompted a brand that had built its reputation on contact lenses to venture into selling specialized eyewear with integrated electronics?

We sat down with Junichi Adachi, who is in charge of sunglasses development at WAVE, and Ryo Awano from the product department to hear the story behind the brand's first-ever pair of sunglasses and the vision that brought them to life.

Giving Form to Intangible Value: The Brand's Next Big Step

WAVE has long been a brand centered on contact lenses, supporting the vision of countless users with its accessible, high-quality products. But in 2023, the company underwent a major rebranding, adopting the new concept of "a brand that designs how you see." This marked a significant shift in direction, moving beyond the traditional confines of contact lenses to offer a comprehensive range of products related to vision. As their first major move, they launched a full-fledged line of eyewear.

The lineup is clearly defined to suit different lifestyles. It consists of three distinct series: the "Basic Series," offering affordable and easy-to-wear options for daily use; the "Smart Series," designed with a fashionable edge for work or social outings; and the "Active Series," which focuses on high performance and functionality.

The Active Series was conceived to offer additional value for those who wear contact lenses. The star of this new series was a groundbreaking product: the brand's very first pair of sunglasses.

"The tagline for our Active Series is 'The new glasses that make your contacts jealous.' Just as it suggests, we wanted to create something more than just a pair of glasses—something with a bit more added value. We believed that by releasing highly functional eyewear, we could introduce an entirely new kind of glasses to the world."

Adachi explains, his passion for the brand's new venture evident. It wasn't about simply making tinted glasses; it was about creating a product that delivered an unparalleled experience. This powerful ambition became the driving force behind the unique "slide-adjustable sunglasses."

To set their product apart from the countless existing sunglasses on the market, the team focused on a novel concept: giving users the ability to intuitively control their own field of vision.

Applying Automotive and Windowpane Tech to Eyewear

In their search for the core technology for their new sunglasses, WAVE discovered a specialized lens technology from a manufacturer in China. Originally developed for applications like car windows and smartphone screen protectors, this technology works by changing light transmittance when an electrical voltage is applied.

Conventional photochromic lenses, which automatically darken in response to UV light, are the most common type on the market. The drawback of this light-reactive method is its dependence on the environment; users can't control the tint if they wish for a brighter view. In contrast, the voltage-based technology allows users to adjust the brightness of their vision across five levels at will, regardless of the weather or surrounding conditions.

"The biggest difference is that you can control the tint at your own pace. For instance, anglers often switch between several pairs of sunglasses throughout the day as the light's reflection changes from early morning to evening. But with these sunglasses, you can adjust the tint across five levels, meaning a single pair can adapt to a wide range of conditions. On top of that, they also have a polarizing feature, so they've been a huge hit," says Adachi.

By combining user-driven tint control with a polarizing function that cuts down on harsh glare, the sunglasses provide an exceptionally clear view, minimizing distracting reflections from water or road surfaces. For anyone who loves outdoor activities, these sunglasses are a highly practical tool that can instantly adapt to constantly shifting conditions, eliminating the need to carry multiple pairs of eyewear.

However, integrating this advanced electronic technology into eyewear that is intuitive and stress-free for everyone presented a key challenge in designing the user interface.

The Quest for Intuitive Controls and a Stress-Free Experience

When implementing the voltage-powered, tint-adjusting feature, the control interface for changing the lens darkness was crucial to the product's overall ease of use. While a button-based system would have guaranteed precise inputs, WAVE deliberately chose a "slide" mechanism on the right temple, operated by moving a finger back and forth.

The reason was to prioritize the seamless experience of changing your view and create an interaction that feels like a natural, everyday motion. The design allows you to operate the sunglasses simply by gliding your finger along the frame, eliminating any tactile, "clicky" feedback.

"A button system has the advantage of making it easy to know which of the five levels you're currently on. However, a sliding control lets you react to your surroundings more intuitively, whether you're making small adjustments to find the perfect brightness or skipping straight to the setting you want. We wanted it to feel just like a regular pair of glasses, without any fussy or complex controls," explains Adachi.

The frames are made from TR-90, an ultra-lightweight material widely used in conventional eyewear, ensuring comfort even during extended wear. Although the right temple houses the electronic components for the slide function and the battery, the design is carefully engineered to maintain an even weight balance, preventing any tilting or awkwardness. Moreover, the choice of TR-90 was also driven by a reason specific to WAVE's online-focused business model.

"When you sell glasses online, you can't offer the kind of in-person fittings you get at a brick-and-mortar store. TR-90 is flexible and durable, making it the perfect material because it can easily accommodate a wide range of face shapes," says Awano.

The robust battery life—a full 47 hours of continuous use from just a 30-minute charge—is another huge plus for active users. For added convenience and peace of mind, the power automatically shuts off when the sunglasses are folded. And if the battery ever runs out mid-use, the lenses simply lock into their lightest setting, allowing you to keep using them as a standard pair of polarized sunglasses.

How the "Slide-Adjustable Sunglasses" Sparked a Brand Evolution

Released in 2023, the "Slide-Adjustable Sunglasses" generated a buzz far beyond initial expectations. Previously, WAVE's contact lens customers were predominantly women in their 40s, particularly fans of colored contacts. However, the launch of this product, with its innovative features, attracted a completely new demographic, including athletes and gadget-savvy men, who began to take notice of the brand.

The brand's new message, "Designing Vision," successfully resonated with this new target audience through a product that blends cutting-edge technology with practical utility. This first foray into sunglasses for WAVE was more than just a product line extension; it was a crucial step in significantly boosting brand awareness and cementing its position as a company that caters to diverse lifestyles.

This endeavor to enhance the experience of "seeing" through the power of technology is yielding tangible results that transcend the brand's origins in contact lenses.

WAVE is already looking ahead, developing new eyewear for its next phase. "We're not just thinking about creating fashionable items. We want to release new products from the perspective of eye care and protection," share Adachi and Awano.

Having expanded from contact lenses to tech-infused sunglasses, the team now envisions a future where they can provide comprehensive support for people's sight. The era of controlling your vision on your own terms has only just begun.