Google Launching AI Glasses in 2026 in Bid to Compete Against Meta

Google is gearing up to slip a new kind of superpower onto your face next year: AI-powered glasses built around its Gemini platform and Android XR.

The upcoming eyewear packs a camera, microphones, and speakers, syncing with your phone to pull apps and information into view without the familiar ritual of digging into your pocket. The idea, Google said in a blog post Monday, is to free up your hands “so you can stay present and engaged with the world around you, whether it’s real or virtual.”  

The company is collaborating with eyewear makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to develop the glasses, and is also extending its partnership with Samsung.

What you can do with Google’s AI glasses

The company plans to release two types of glasses: the Android XR glasses will let users message others, while the in-lens display version will enable users to make appointments, ask for turn-by-turn directions, take photos, and more.

Google said it has also demoed live language translation between two people, “showing the potential for these glasses to break down language barriers — giving you subtitles for the real world.”

The glasses will also include an optional in-lens display for privately displaying information. “Pairing these glasses with Gemini means they see and hear what you do, so they understand your context, remember what’s important to you and can help you throughout your day,” Google said.

The smart glasses market is growing

Google is competing with Meta, which has successfully released Ray-Ban Meta AI-powered glasses developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica. Meta said it was shifting its focus to smart glasses while scaling back on the massive investments made in the metaverse. The $799 glasses let users leverage a Neural Band wrist controller to issue commands.

Google announced in May that it was getting back into the smart glasses market after co-founder Sergey Brin said he learned from past mistakes with their Google Glass eyewear, such as using less sophisticated AI and a lack of consumer electronics supply chain knowledge.  

The small smart glasses market is growing increasingly competitive, with other companies, including Snap and Alibaba, also developing AI glasses.

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