GoKawiilLast December, I wore Google Glasses while they were still under development. At this week's Google I/O developer conference, we should find out when you'll be able to get your hands on a pair.
Until now, Meta has been the biggest tech company aiming to place a screen on your face in glasses form. But Google's entering the race with a range of smart glasses, its first return to everyday face tech since Google Glass in 2013.
This time, the focus is on AI: Gemini will be the key component that powers Google's Android XR glasses. The smart glasses will come in a wide range of designs: Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, Kering Eyewear and Samsung are all expected to have their own models. Xreal, a maker of display glasses, will also have a mixed-reality device called Project Aura.
I'll be attending Google's annual developers conference along with several other CNET colleagues. If you've thought about getting a pair of smart glasses, you'll want to see what they're all about.
Watch this: What to Expect From Google I/O: Glasses, Glasses, Glasses 05:58
All about Gemini
Google, Samsung and Qualcomm have been collaborating on Android XR, a new OS for a whole range of mixed reality headsets, AI glasses, display-enabled glasses and, eventually, augmented reality glasses. The first product of this collaboration, Samsung Galaxy XR, arrived last fall.
Galaxy XR is very much a VR headset, but also a mixed reality computer, similar to the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest 3. It runs Android apps via its Android XR OS and also has Gemini AI that can respond to voice commands and stream live video from your device's screen and the real world via its external cameras.
That on-tap Gemini assistant is exactly what will be the key app for the next wave of smart glasses. Much like Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses, which use Meta AI, Google's glasses will use Gemini and also related Gemini apps like Nano Banana and NotebookLM.
Pop-up information on the display-enabled glasses will offer contextual details, like live map data. Google
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