I tried Google’s prototype smart glasses and it almost made me forget about my phone

By Lisa Eadicicco, CNN

(CNN) — How often do you reach for your phone to get directions, answer a video call or Google something? Probably more times than you can count.

Google wants to change that, and it’s not alone. The search giant is part of a growing cohort of tech companies betting big on smart glasses that use artificial intelligence to relay information from your phone and analyze your surroundings using cameras and microphones.

Google demonstrated its glasses in May and introduced the software behind them a year ago. But last week it showed CNN and other outlets a more detailed look at the software, providing a better glimpse into what to expect when the glasses launch next year. It could be a step toward a world where people are no longer grabbing their phones every few seconds.

If the glasses are successful, that is. Google Glass, the company’s previous attempt at smart glasses, flopped roughly a decade ago because they were unstylish, expensive, limited in functionality and brought up a wave of privacy concerns.

Google relies mostly on search, advertising and cloud services for its revenue, so hardware products like smart glasses are not going to make or break the nearly $4 trillion tech juggernaut. But the stakes are still high for smart glasses, with tech giants eager to plant their flag in what they see as the next wave of personal computers.

“If you look at the way that Google and many companies in our industry have grown, it’s always about expanding with new computing platforms,” said Juston Payne, Google’s director of product management for Android XR, the software platform that powers Google’s glasses.

“We see the same thing happening in this space,” he added.

Google already faces stiff competition, as Meta has touted strong sales of its Ray-Ban glasses, saying on an October earnings call that its newest model “sold out in almost every store within 48 hours.” Tech companies, including Google, have tried and failed to make VR headsets and glasses an everyday product.

Glasses that can see – and alter – the world around you

Similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, Google’s spectacles let you do a variety of things hands-free, such as taking a photo, getting directions, answering calls and learning about the objects in your viewpoint. In this demo and previous ones, I’ve asked Gemini questions like: “Do I need to read the other books in this series?” or “Are these peppers spicy” when glancing at a shelf of books or grocery items.

Google has made some notable changes since the last time I tried its prototype roughly a year ago. After taking a picture of the room I was in, Google instantly transformed the photo to make it look like the North Pole using its Nano Banana AI model. All it took was a simple spoken command.

I was impressed but also a little concerned about how glasses like these so quickly and easily capture and doctor images.

Google went down this twisty road over a decade ago, when its failed Google Glass headset sparked controversy for how it could discretely take photos and record video.

Payne says Google has learned from what happened with Glasses. Similar to Meta’s Ray-Bans, there’s a light on the prototype glasses that shows when the camera or AI image editing model is in use, and Gemini users can delete prompts and activity in the app.

“Our belief here is that glasses can fail based on a lack of social acceptance. So, in other words, we have to be fully leaned in” to privacy, said Payne. Google Glass, however, faced other hurdles.

Better than your phone at some things, but not a replacement

Instead of peering down at your phone at every corner to find your way around a new city, or glancing down to see translations during a conversation with a foreign language speaker, glasses like Google’s can show and recite information right near your line of sight and in your ear.

The version of Google Maps I tried on the glasses shows an arrow pointing you in the right direction near your sightline and the map when you glance down. It’s similar in functionality to the way Google Maps works on phones, but without the hassle looking down at a screen.

But prepare for some awkward interactions. I spoke before Gemini was ready to listen and interrupted Gemini’s responses on multiple occasions, for example. Those social nuances are only part of the reason why phones probably aren’t going away anytime soon, and why Payne acknowledges that glasses won’t replace phones.

But Google is willing to bet that glasses will play some role in whatever the next big computing device will be – so much so that the glasses are even compatible with Android’s biggest rival, the iPhone.

Google plans to sell the glasses in two versions: one with a display and another that just provides audio feedback. Google is partnering with eyeglass makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster and hasn’t said when they will launch or how much they will cost. It’s also developing another model with two screens that can show more in-depth graphics, but the company hasn’t said exactly when those will launch.

It’s not just Google’s future that’s riding on the success of Android XR and Gemini. Just like Android for phones, Android XR is available to other tech companies so that they can make headsets and glasses fueled by the software. Samsung and Xreal, a company that specializes in smart glasses, are among Google’s first partners.

When asked what happens to Xreal if the AI boom turns out to be just hype, founder and CEO Chi Xu said he believes “AI is for real.”

The-CNN-Wire
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