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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.