Tiny xMEMS fan aims to cool smart glasses

Heat remains one of the biggest technical barriers for AR/XR and smart glasses. xMEMS, a semiconductor company known for audio technology, says it has a new answer: the XMC-1200, which it describes as the “world’s smallest active micro fan.”

According to the company, the fan measures 46mm, delivers 10 degrees Celsius of cooling at a 1W thermal load, and uses just 70mW of power. The pitch is straightforward: more cooling in a tiny package, with less power draw than existing systems.

×

That could matter for both performance and image quality. xMEMS says better heat dissipation would help AR/XR glasses sustain performance for longer, while also reducing display problems such as color bleed that can affect micro OLED panels.

For camera-first smart glasses, the company is making a more specific claim: longer recording sessions.

“By actively managing heat at the source, the XMC-1200 can help extend recording sessions and enable users to capture longer events, conversations, and POV experiences.”

The source article notes that Meta’s Ray-Ban and first-party AI glasses currently top out at three minutes of recording per clip, up from 90 seconds on the first-generation Ray-Bans. That is enough for short clips, but well short of the demands of always-recording concepts such as Meta’s “super-sensing” smart glasses.

Recommended reading

Garmin takes on Whoop with its first screenless tracker

xMEMS has not said how much longer recording times could get in practice. The company says the XMC-1200 is targeting production readiness toward the end of 2027 — timing that could line up with future devices from companies such as Apple or Google.