The glasses, built on Google's Android XR platform, will use Gemini to answer questions, give directions, and handle tasks hands-free
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Google $GOOGL announced plans to launch audio glasses powered by its Gemini AI assistant later this fall, revealing designs created with eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. The glasses were unveiled at Google I/O 2026 alongside Samsung, which is a partner on the underlying Android XR platform.
The audio glasses will work with both Android and iOS phones and will allow users to access Gemini by saying "Hey Google" or tapping the frame, the company said. Features include turn-by-turn navigation, real-time speech and text translation, hands-free calls and messaging, photo capture, and the ability to execute multi-step tasks through third-party apps such as DoorDash and Uber $UBER.
The two designs shown at the event represent the first entries in broader collections from each eyewear brand, with more styles expected later this year, Google said. Gentle Monster's design takes a different aesthetic direction from Warby Parker's, which features a more traditional frame silhouette, according to Engadget.
Rather than running independently, the glasses are tethered to a user's smartphone, relying on that device's processing power over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. This first generation will be audio-only, with no built-in display. Google has said display glasses are also in development but will come later.
A demo at the conference featured product manager Nishtha Bhatia showing off the glasses' capabilities, which included pulling up Gemini, placing a coffee order through DoorDash, getting Gemini to read back unread messages, and scheduling a calendar event, according to CNBC. "These are the first two designs of a bigger collection coming this fall," Shahram Izadi, head of Android XR products and platform, said at the keynote.
Google has not disclosed pricing, detailed hardware specifications, or a specific release date. The company also did not address privacy terms for the glasses.
Google's entry into the smart glasses market puts it up against Meta $META, which moved 7 million units of its EssilorLuxottica-made Ray-Ban and Oakley AI glasses in 2025, according to CNBC. Meta has faced scrutiny over its smart glasses program, including calls from the ACLU and more than 75 other organizations to abandon plans to add facial recognition to the Ray-Ban and Oakley devices. Google has not indicated whether its glasses will include facial recognition capabilities.
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