Google is trying out smart glasses again.
At its Google I/O keynote address on Tuesday, Google showed off a product that was referred to simply as "Android XR glasses" in both the presentation and the accompanying blog post. No price or release date was given, so between all of that and the fact that the product doesn't seem to have a real name yet, this could be quite a ways off from being on store shelves.
If you think these glasses are just a ripoff of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, think again. While Meta's specs are really just a camera you wear on your face with zero augmented reality features of any kind, Google's glasses have a full AR UI built into the lenses, which you can use to search for information about things you're looking at or navigate with Google Maps while you're out and about. Google also mentioned that you can use these glasses to message your friends and make appointments. However, it's worth noting that Google described the in-lens UI as "optional" in the blog post. Of course, it's all powered by Google's Gemini AI tech.
The glasses also have cameras, microphones, and speakers built-in. The one and only live demo Google attempted during the I/O keynote was for a conversational language translation tool that would theoretically enable two people speaking different languages to speak to each other in-person. However, "theoretically" is doing a lot of work there, as the demo failed after a couple of sentences, leading Google to hit the ejector seat before it could really get going.
During this segment, Google also announced that Samsung's Project Moohan XR headset will be the first consumer device to run on the Android XR operating system. Moohan will launch later this year, but other than that, Google didn't say a lot about it. On top of that, Google announced that the XR glasses will be manufactured in collaboration with glasses brands like Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, so there could potentially be a little bit more variety to the way they look than Meta's Ray-Ban glasses.
Readers with functional memories might remember Google Glass, a similar product Google released to nearly universal derision in 2015. Glass very quickly transitioned from a consumer-focused product to an enterprise device within a couple of years of release, before Google stopped selling it altogether in 2023. It didn't work then, but maybe infusing the Android XR glasses with Gemini AI features will give them a leg up over Glass.
It should also be noted that one of Google's biggest competitors is reportedly interested in developing smart glasses, but today's news would put that company way behind the ball. Apple has been rumored to be developing AR glasses for a while now, but a report earlier this year indicated the project was dead. A different report just last month suggested Apple is still working on smart glasses, but they would be more akin to the Meta device than Google's new glasses. That would give Google a serious advantage in the market, to say the least.
