With Android XR, Google’s Brin gives smart glasses another go

Google on Tuesday announced that it’s getting back into the smart glasses game, and co-founder Sergey Brin said that this time will be different. 

“I’ve learned a lot,” Brin said Tuesday at a fireside chat during the annual Google I/O developer conference. 

His appearance came after Google announced a partnership with Warby Parker, which saw its stock rise more than 15% after the two companies said they plan to launch a series of smart glasses as soon as next year. The glasses will be built on top of Google’s Android XR, an operating system for headset computers, and they’ll include Google’s Gemini AI assistant that users can speak with to control the wearable devices.

Brin’s comments came in an impromptu appearance at a conference chat scheduled between Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and journalist Alex Kantrowitz about “the future of AI and its impact on our world.” 

During the chat, Brin said that with the rise of generative artificial intelligence, Alphabet is able to revive the idea of Google Glass, the wearable devices the company launched in 2013 for $1,500. 

“I definitely feel like I made a lot of mistakes with Google Glass, I’ll be honest,” Brin said, adding that he is still a big believer in the glasses form factor. 

“And now it looks like normal glasses without that thing in front,” he said, referring to the visible camera that existed on the corner of the original Google Glass prototype.

Brin attributed the failure of Google Glass in part to “a technology gap.” Since 2013 when Google Glass was launched, the company has developed advanced AI technology that powers Gemini, its flagship AI product and a key component for users to control a wearable device.

“Now, in the AI world, the things these glasses can do to help you out without constantly distracting you — that capability is much higher,” he said. 

Brin also said that during his first attempt at the Google Glass, he didn’t know anything about supply chains and how to get the glasses to a reasonable price point.

The Google co-founder’s comments come as companies race to compete for wearable glasses as a form factor for AI products. Meta partnered with EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban, to make smart glasses that have a camera for capturing photos and videos. Apple is reportedly working on smart glasses that use augmented reality.

Besides Warby Parker, Google on Tuesday said it will partner with developers and device makers for Android XR, including Samsung, Qualcomm, Sony, Xreal and Magic Leap. Google’s annual developer conference also included a number of updates to its AI products, including a new high-end subscription service called Google AI Ultra, which costs $249.99 per month.

Glass was first sold to developers and early adopters and gained popularity mostly among tech enthusiasts. Despite backing from Brin and fellow Google co-founder Larry Page, the Glass project never caught on as a mainstream product. The built-in camera led to fights over privacy, and the product became the butt of jokes on late-night television. The company tried to re-launch it as an “enterprise” product, but Google in 2023 announced that it would stop selling its Glass Enterprise smart glasses.

Brin on Tuesday joked about the infamous skydivers that introduced the glasses at Google I/O in 2012, which took place at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. At the time, four Google employees skydived out of a plane, live streaming their jump through their Google Glasses.

“Honestly, it would have been even cooler here at Shoreline Amphitheater,” Brin said, referring to the Mountain View, California, venue that’s currently used by Google for the conference.

“But we should probably polish the product first,” he said, which drew laughs from the audience. “Then we’ll do a really cool demo. That’s probably the smart move.”

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