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Google takes a page out of Meta’s book, announces new audio-powered smart glasses at IO 2026

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Why This Matters

Google's new audio-powered smart glasses represent a strategic move to re-enter the wearable tech market, emphasizing voice control and seamless integration with Android and iOS ecosystems. This development highlights the growing importance of AI-driven, hands-free devices in enhancing user convenience and connectivity, positioning Google as a key competitor in the evolving smart glasses industry.

Key Takeaways

Google is getting (back) into the smart glasses game.

At Google I/O on Tuesday, the company announced a new partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to produce a new line of AI-powered glasses. The company says that the devices will be built to pair with Android and iOS devices and were designed in collaboration with Samsung. They will be available later this year, the company said.

Google is calling the new devices “audio glasses,” in that users will be able to issue verbal commands to them and get things done via its ecosystem of apps and services, including Gemini.

Image Credits:TechCrunch

The user simply talks to their glasses (the demo shared on Tuesday involved a Googler ordering a coffee online by merely talking to the glasses), and the device, when synced, complies.

Google has dabbled in smart glasses a number of times over the years. It notoriously launched Google Glass years ago, which ultimately helped spawn the derogatory term “glassholes.”

The smart glasses space has changed a little bit since then, however. Lately, major companies — most notably Meta — and a small army of startups and smaller firms, have invested in the space.

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