Remember Google Glass? The Big G’s clever specs adorned with a screen, a camera, and all the Google+ integration you could shake a stick at? The glasses might be coming back with a big upgrade. And this time, we’re ready for them, with plenty of smart glasses and VR headsets already on people’s faces.
Read more: I strapped Brilliant Labs’ ChatGPT-powered monocle to my face for a week
At the Google I/O 2024 developer’s conference, everyone’s favourite search giant put a firm focus on AI. AI this. AI that. There are compilations of just how many times they said the phrase on stage. But in the presentation, Google might have given us a look at a second version of Google Glass.
During a video for Gemini AI, Google shows someone wearing a pair of smart glasses and asking Gemini what they’re looking at. It’s led many to believe that Google is working on a pair of smart glasses – an AI-powered version of Google Glass, if you will. The glasses are unlikely to be Meta’s smart Ray-Bans, as they use Meta’s Llama AI model. Even if Google doesn’t release Google Glass 2 (perhaps called Pixel Glasses now), this could be a sign that the tech giant is partnering up with another brand that makes them.
If you didn’t quite catch the blip that was Google Glass back in 2014, here’s what you need to know. The device was a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses. They were packed with smart notifications, a camera for photos and videos, turn-by-turn navigation, and Google’s defunct social platform Google+. The specs proved unpopular with consumers due to a hefty price tag of $1500, and privacy concerns. A second version entered testing for enterprises in 2022, but not much has come of that.
Related: I was disappointed with the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, but Xreal’s new AR specs give me hope
