GoKawiilI found myself facing a wall, talking to a smiling molecule that emerged from a vase. I had pinched my fingers over the very real vase, and now a very unreal molecule floated in front of me, googly eyes blinking, as it told me about its properties in ceramic material. This whole chat, AI-generated via Gemini, emerged as a hovering 3D graphic on glasses I was wearing. They were plugged into a phone-sized device running an app that was apparently coded on the fly in just days.
This advanced AR glasses setup, known as Project Aura, is just one of three Google glasses products coming this year. And there's more -- also on deck are wireless AI glasses made with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, slated for the fall, ready to compete with Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. I spent time with all of them, and even a prototype dual-display set of wireless glasses, at Google's Mountain View campus. Back in December, I'd done a demo as well, but my latest deep dive showed me more, and better, things that all of these glasses can do. I was wowed.
Will Google help make smart glasses feel more everyday and useful? Or solve how offputting and potentially threatening their cameras and AI tech make some people feel? My latest set of demos at Google's campus, part of Google's AI-centric I/O developer conference, convinced me that they could be the best smart glasses out there. They could even help redefine what smart glasses can be. And they're the first glasses I've seen that really feel ready to work with the apps and services we have on phones already.
In 2026 we've seen a flood of smart glasses, a category of product that most people don't wear and many are increasingly wary of. But Google's Gemini-powered glasses could change what's possible more than nearly any other glasses I've seen so far. The reason, clearly, is the AI and software under the hood -- and what Google's doing to lay groundwork for where Apple is reportedly heading too. That's even clearer to me now after meeting again with Google's head of XR, Shahram Izadi, and Samsung's Jay Kim, head of that company's MX customer experience division.
These are prototype glasses, with custom prescription inserts added for the demo, but these Samsung/Google glasses are lightweight and still have a display in one lens. Scott Stein/CNET
Google's glasses look ready to one-up Meta on AI smarts
I test-drove multiple versions of the smart glasses that Google and Samsung are releasing later this year. What I saw were still prototype models, but their more watch- and phone-connected features have more AI skills than Meta's latest glasses. But they still don't have prices yet, or even an official name.
Called "Intelligent Eyewear" for now, the glasses will be given product names later on by Warby Parker, Gentle Monster and Samsung when they're released this fall, according to Izadi, who spoke with me at Google's headquarters.
Watch this: The Future of Smart Glasses Is Coming This Fall 07:00
The glasses will all have cameras, microphones and embedded speakers like Meta's line of smart glasses, and also will come in display-free and single-display versions. The always-on Gemini Live mode on these glasses could follow me around a room and describe plants or tell me how to play a board game. I've seen these tricks before. But Google's advantage over Meta is how these AI tools relay back to apps already on phones, like Google Keep and Google Calendar. Or appear on watches.
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