Google tries smart glasses again

• Meta has invested steadily in the category and Apple and others are ramping up development.

Driving the news: At Google I/O, the company offered more details on its prototype Android XR glasses and announced partnerships with Samsung and Warby Parker.

• Unlike Meta's existing Ray-Ban smart glasses, Google's prototype adds an optional small display to the standard cameras, speakers and microphones.
• Google also showed off its Gemini AI assistant running on its Project Moohan headset, the Apple Vision Pro rival that Samsung and Google plan to start selling later this year.
• Google teased a third device, Project Aura, by Chinese hardware maker Xreal, known for glasses that allow users to both see the real world and watch movies and other content on a large virtual display.

How it works: Google's XR glasses connect via a nearby smartphone, while Aura glasses tether to a small custom computer powered by a Qualcomm processor.

Flashback: Introduced in 2013, the "explorer edition" of Google Glass cost a whopping $1,500 despite its limited function and awkward design, including a small display that was housed in a prominent acrylic block. Those who bought the device were often mocked, with some dubbing wearers as "glassholes."

• Google has had an on-again, off-again relationship with virtual and augmented reality ever since. It has had a range of products, many short-lived, including its low-end Cardboard and its Daydream family of devices.

Between the lines: Reflecting on Google Glass, Sergey Brin said the product was too expensive and too distracting, among other flaws.

• "I definitely feel like I made a lot of mistakes with Google Glass," Brin said during an on-stage interview at Google I/O, appearing alongside Demis Hassabis. "I just didn't know anything about consumer electronic supply chains."
• "I am still a big believer in the format, so I'm glad that we have it now."

Hassabis said modern AI gives the glasses a purpose.

• "I feel like the universal assistant is the killer app for smart glasses and I think that's what's going to make it work," he said, adding that the underlying hardware technology "has also moved on and improved a lot."

Zoom in: I got to try both the prototype Android AR glasses and Project Moohan and both felt like a glimpse of the future and solid competitors to the products on the market.

• The display on the AR glasses is small but has enough detail to show images, such as a small map with directions. Google's Gemini AI assistant is available at the touch of a button and was able to answer a wide array of questions about paintings and other objects in the demo environment.
• Project Moohan felt lighter than the Vision Pro and had an impressive field of view.
• The controls were just as intuitive as the Vision Pro, but with an easier setup.

Yes, but: Google's augmented reality glasses aren't coming this year, while Meta is expected to offer a version of its Ray-Bans with a small screen included.

• Project Aura is also seen as largely a 2026 proposition, though some developers might get their hands on the device a bit sooner.