Google Intelligent Eyewear opens preorders at $395
Google and its partners opened preorders for Gemini-powered Android XR “Intelligent Eyewear” on November 12, with Warby Parker models starting at $395 and Gentle Monster models priced from $449 to $489. The audio-first glasses have no in-lens display, use a 12-megapixel camera and Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip, and support features such as translation, navigation, calls and Gemini interaction; Google says they will ship on December 10. Google also detailed privacy protections that disable the camera when its recording light is covered and blur bystanders’ faces before images reach Gemini.
This is a confirmed consumer-hardware launch that brings Gemini into lightweight, hands-free eyewear while directly addressing the privacy concerns surrounding camera-equipped glasses.
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Recap: Google popularized the modern concept of smart glasses with its ill-fated Google Glass project in 2013, which succumbed to sharp pushback over privacy concerns. As Meta contends with the same controversy more than a decade later and Apple contemplates the issue, Google is taking another crack at it, hoping new privacy assurances can make smart glasses the next digital trend.
Pre-orders are now open for two new sets of Google smart glasses from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Shipment dates remain unclear, but various colors and styles are available, ranging from around $400 to $500.
Google's new Intelligent Eyeware collection runs on the company's Android XR platform, which mirrors Meta's smart-glass functionality via Google's AI and software suite. Users can summon Gemini with a voice command, get audio descriptions of what the 12MP camera sees, access turn-by-turn pedestrian directions with Google Maps, and much more. The company's new Guided Vision mode also uses audio descriptions to assist the blind.
#Google#Samsung#Warby Parker#Gentle Monster#Qualcomm#Gemini#Android XR#Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1