GoKawiilKerry Wan/ZDNET
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
During Google's two-hour keynote this week, the company spent a generous 12 minutes discussing Android XR and the "Intelligent Eyewear" genre that it encompasses. But when you've got hardware partners in Samsung and Qualcomm, and a rich software ecosystem to build around, that's all the time you really need to send a message.
Google is effectively launching three pairs of smart glasses by the end of this year: audio-only models from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, Project Aura with Xreal, and a reference model with a single-view display.
Also: Everything we saw at Google I/O: Gemini 3.5, Android XR glasses, Spark, and more
I don't know how much each pair will cost when it eventually hits the market -- I'd ballpark something that's above comfort -- and I don't know how much of its capabilities will change in the months leading up to that.
What I do know is that they're all supercharged by Gemini, and after demoing the latest features at Google I/O this week, I can live with that. It may be time for you to embrace it, too.
Wearing Android XR glasses (again)
My first encounter with Google's Android XR reference glasses, a pair with a built-in display, tap gestures, and multimodal Gemini capabilities, was exactly one year ago at I/O. It was a brief, five-minute demo that mainly highlighted the wearable's lightweight form factor for me.
I tried them again in December, when the company was ready to showcase more camera-based tools that, while still controlled, showed more promise.
... continue reading