Technology
Google and Samsung Partner With Eyewear Brands to Launch Smart Glasses
The new wearable devices integrate Google's Gemini artificial intelligence and aim to challenge Meta's market position with a focus on privacy and fashion-forward designs.
By Headlinne · Compiled from reporting by Wired, Verge and Business Insider
Google and Samsung released a new line of smart glasses on Wednesday, collaborating with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to offer AI-powered eyewear that can capture photos and translate languages in real time.
The glasses are available for preorder starting at $395 for Warby Parker frames and $449 for Gentle Monster designs, with official retail sales scheduled to begin on December 10.
The launch marks a significant effort by the tech companies to compete with Meta, which currently dominates the smart glasses market despite public concerns regarding privacy and unauthorized recording.
"This is a fashion product," said Neil Blumenthal, the co-CEO of Warby Parker. "At its core, it's someone's identity."
The devices feature a 12-megapixel camera and are powered by Google's Gemini assistant, which users can activate through a touch-sensitive temple piece or by using a voice command.
To address privacy concerns, the glasses include an LED indicator that illuminates when the camera is active, and Google has implemented software to automatically redact faces from captured images.
"We’re also redacting faces before they actually go to the server in the first place, which then gets ahead of certain things that can obviously go sideways," said Juston Payne, Google's senior director of product management for XR.
Payne added that the company does not intend to use the visual data to train its AI models or target advertisements toward users.
The hardware is identical across all styles and weighs approximately 41 grams, with a battery life of nine hours and a charging case that provides up to seven additional charges.
Compatibility is currently limited to specific mobile devices, including Google Pixel 7 or newer, Samsung Galaxy phones running One UI 9.0, and the iPhone 13 Pro or newer models.
Some early testers noted that the translation features and voice-activated AI responses can be inconsistent or difficult to manage in noisy environments.
While the current models focus on audio and camera capabilities, Google is also developing versions with built-in lens displays, though the company has not provided a release date for that technology.
Google plans to share details regarding the expansion of device support to additional smartphone models in 2027.
Reporting from
- Wired
Google and Samsung’s Android XR Smart Glasses Are Finally Here
- The Verge
I tried Google’s AI glasses and Meta’s finally got real competition
- Business Insider
Warby Parker's rival to Meta glasses is here. I got an early look.
How this article was made: Headlinne wrote it with AI from the 3 reports listed above. Direct quotes are checked word for word against those reports, every number appears in at least one of them, and no other sentence is copied from one. Photos are from those reports and credited to them. Each report’s page on Headlinne links to the outlet’s original.