Last December, I wore Google Glasses in several forms while they were still under development. Soon you’ll be able to get your hands on the final versions. When, exactly, and for how much? We may find out more in just a handful of days.

While Meta has been the biggest tech company aiming for a place on your face in glasses form, it’s far from the only one. Google’s about to enter the race with a whole range of smart glasses, the company’s first return to everyday face tech since Google Glass in 2013.

This time, the focus is almost entirely on AI. Gemini will be the reason and the biggest function for what makes Google’s Android XR glasses work, but they’ll come in a wide range of designs: Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, Kering Eyewear and Samsung are all expected to have their own models. Xreal, a maker of display glasses, will have an additional plug-in mixed reality device called Project Aura, too.

This year’s Google I/O developer conference is just around the corner on May 19, and we should hear a lot more about Google’s smart glasses strategy. But we already know a lot, since Google talked about and demoed these glasses last year. Now that we’re in 2026, all these glasses should finally arrive, and if you’ve even been half-thinking about getting a pair of smart glasses, you’ll want to see what they’re all about.

Watch this: What to Expect From Google I/O: Glasses, Glasses, Glasses

05:58

All about Gemini

Google, Samsung and Qualcomm have been collaborating on Android XR, a new OS for a whole range of mixed reality headsets, AI glasses, display-enabled glasses and eventually augmented reality glasses. The first product of this collaboration, Samsung Galaxy XR, arrived last fall. 

Galaxy XR is very much a VR headset, but also a mixed reality computer, similar to the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest 3. It runs Android apps via its Android XR OS, and also has Gemini AI that can respond to voice, and run live to see anything on your device’s screen and in the real world via its external cameras.

That on-tap Gemini assistant is exactly what will be the key app for the next wave of smart glasses. Much like Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses, which use Meta AI, Google’s glasses will use Gemini and also related Gemini apps like Nano Banana and NotebookLM. 

The display-free glasses will use microphones and built-in speakers to respond to AI prompts, handle live language translation, or play music and phone calls. A camera can take photos and videos, or activate a Gemini Live mode for continuous recording and AI awareness about the world. 

An additional line of display-enabled glasses, with a color display in one lens, will show snapshots taken on the glasses, show phone notifications, play videos or even provide live assistive captioning or translation. Certain apps will also work on the glasses as extensions of what you’re doing on your phone: Google Maps can show directions and maps displayed on the ground in front of you with a head tilt, or Uber can show driver status.

Three (or more) design partners

Warby Parker, Korean fashion eyewear brand Gentle Monster and European eyewear brand Kering are already official Android XR glasses partners, meaning all three will launch lines of Android XR glasses. Expect lots of designs and fashion riffs, much like how Meta’s glasses partner EssilorLuxottica makes many frame designs under its Oakley and Ray-Ban brands.

Gucci smart glasses are expected via Kering, and there are sure to be more surprises. Also, Samsung is likely in the mix. Even though Samsung is already a partner helping make all these other glasses (likely by provisioning camera and display components), Samsung is reportedly going to announce its own Android XR glasses at some point, too. 

Add to the mix Xreal, a manufacturer of USB-tethered display-enabled glasses, which is making its own Android XR mini-computer called Project Aura (more on that below).

Much like Google’s many partnerships with watch brands years ago via Android Wear, more glasses brands could come aboard. 

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A separate sort of AR glasses experience, Project Aura

The Xreal-made glasses work differently from the other smart glasses, acting more like a mini VR headset than an all-day set of eyewear. Project Aura is a specialized set of Xreal glasses with a larger display and extra cameras that plug into a processing puck the size of a phone. Wearing them (which I did last year), you can run apps and 3D experiences and even use hand tracking like a VR headset.

Project Aura runs the same apps as the Galaxy XR and uses the same chipset. It’s truly a sort of shrunken-down mixed reality experience, aiming to serve as a development tool for future Google AR glasses that might connect directly to phones as well as an actual product. But it’s not meant to be worn all day. Instead, like Xreal’s other glasses, it’s a sort of “headphones for your eyes” wearable display with audio that can extend displays out around you on the go.

The big difference: How well they’ll work with Google and Android

Google’s big advantage with Android XR should be how well these devices work with AI apps you might already use or with apps on your phone. On Android phones, these should feel more deeply integrated with phone controls and apps, like a smartwatch. With iOS, they should also work with Gemini services.

There still haven’t been everyday smart glasses that connect deeply with the phones in our pockets, and Google’s should be the first. Apple might follow next year with glasses of its own.

Google’s already said phone notifications should appear as interactive widgets on the glasses, but will more apps also build deeper hooks? And will more AI be allowed beyond Gemini? For now, Google has said Gemini is the primary AI service for its glasses. But these glasses will also work with WearOS watches, too.

Will Google solve the privacy and social acceptance issues?

Meta has repeatedly run into trouble over its handling of users’ personal data, and inappropriate public use of its smart glasses cameras has led to social media backlash. Meta’s AI privacy policies are murky, and Meta’s not a company that’s respected for social media safety or privacy, with very good reason.

Will Google do better? It’s considered more reputable, but it’s also a company that already blends ads into our personal data and is increasingly swallowing up more data, like health and fitness, for its connected AI services. Google will have to explain how responsible it’ll be with glasses going forward, and overcome public acceptance factors. Will the “Glasshole” moniker come back to bite it?

Price and release date unknown

We have no idea when these glasses are coming, other than “sometime in 2026.” But expect more news starting at Google I/O on May 19. I’ll be there, and we’ll be reporting on all the AI and smart glasses news as it happens. We should know more then.

Google has announced a major upgrade to its fitness and wellness platform by introducing Fitbit Air and the new Google Health app. With personalized workout suggestions, sleep insights, and nutrition guidance, Google is making its health platform more interactive. The AI coaching features will be available on a paid plan starting at Rs 99 per month.

The new “Today” tab works more like an interactive health feed. It highlights sleep summaries, weekly cardio scores, readiness levels, and daily activity updates in a more visual and contextual format. The app can also provide recovery recommendations and suggest workouts or lighter activities based on recent health patterns.

Google Health Coach Powered by Gemini

This tool serves as an artificial wellness assistant that analyzes user data and provides personalized advice and information. The AI trainer can advise on exercises, give sleep tips, monitor recovery, and provide nutrition advice as well. As noted by Google, this tool should be more interactive and flexible than conventional fitness applications. It can also modify its recommendations depending on specific circumstances, such as low energy, injuries, and routine changes.

Google Health Subscription Pricing in India

Google plans to continue providing all basic health and fitness tracking features for free via the Google Health application. This includes all standard features, such as recording steps taken, measuring heart rate, and recording sleep information, that users will have access to for free.

However, the company has placed its advanced AI-powered features under a premium plan. The Google Health subscription is priced at Rs 99 per month or Rs 999 per year in India. Premium users get access to advanced coaching tools, deeper sleep analysis, personalized workout plans, and proactive health recommendations powered by Gemini AI.

Fitbit Air Launches as a Screenless Fitness Tracker

Unlike other fitness trackers, the wearable device focuses solely on monitoring the user’s health stats in the background. Google designed the Fitbit Air with a lightweight pebble-like shape that feels slimmer than the Fitbit Luxe and Inspire 3 series. The company created its sleek body to provide users with better comfort during all-day wear.

Another important aspect that distinguishes Fitbit Air from other products is its ability to operate continuously for several days, thanks to advanced battery technology. At the same time, Google is aiming to provide fast recharging by implementing it in the wearable as well. Indeed, according to some sources, charging for 5 minutes will provide enough battery for a whole day.

Fitbit Air Price and Availability

Google has officially launched the Fitbit Air at $99.99, roughly equivalent to ₹9,400 in India. The wearable is currently available for global pre-orders, while full sales are expected to start later this month, on May 26.

As part of the launch offer, customers purchasing the device will get a three-month Google Health Premium trial. The subscription unlocks AI-based wellness coaching, personalized workout plans, and advanced health insights.

from the this-is-why-we-can’t-have-nice-things dept

In late 2023, I wrote a feature for The Verge exploring the FCC’s attempt to stop race and class discrimination in broadband deployment. For decades, big telecoms have not only refused to evenly upgrade broadband in low income and poor areas (despite billions in subsidies for this exact purpose), they’ve provably charged poor and minority neighborhoods significantly more money for worse service.

To be clear: the Biden FCC’s plan didn’t actually stop such discrimination. The previous FCC didn’t even have the moral courage to call out big telecoms with a history of such practices (see: AT&T’s “digital redlining” in cities like Cleveland and Detroit). The FCC simply acknowledged that this discrimination clearly exists and set up a complaint process for consumers who had been discriminated against.

I’m not sure the loophole-filled rules would have ever resulted in meaningful accountability for providers, given holding telecom monopolies accountable has never been a serious priority for either party. But it was at least an acknowledgement that this obvious discrimination exists. For the first time ever. Which was important for what I would hope is obvious reasons.

No longer: the Republican-stocked 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the entire FCC effort in a ruling, stating the FCC exceeded its legal authority by imposing liability for actions resulting in “disparate impact,” instead of merely policing “disparate treatment.” And by extending the complaint process to include subcontractors who help ISPs with deployment:

“[The FCC] exceeded its statutory authority in two respects that are the core of the final rule—disparate impact liability and the definition of covered entities. We therefore vacate the final rule in its entirety, leaving the FCC with an unfinished obligation to ‘adopt final rules to facilitate equal access to broadband Internet access service’ in compliance with 47 U.S.C. § 1754.”

That resulted in the whole effort being discarded.

The FCC could try to re-establish the rules with a new effort, but that new effort likely wouldn’t survive our new reality created by our corrupt courts dismantling Chevron Deference. Republicans and corporate power have made holding large U.S. companies accountable for almost anything illegal, and it’s still somehow not being talked about enough, given the vast (and quite deadly) looming ramifications.

While the Judges and case intervenors like to put on a very serious adult face and pretend they’re engaging in very serious legalese, the goal here really is no meaningful oversight of telecom monopolies. There’s always something they concoct to suggest the U.S. government can’t engage in basic consumer protection oversight of telecoms. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else.

The impact of this assault on the U.S. federal regulatory state is everywhere you look. Especially in broadband access, where dominant regional monopolies and state and federal regulatory capture (read: corruption) result in spotty access, slow speeds, and abysmal consumer service for everyone. Minorities and marginalized communities just get hit hardest, and usually first.

The ruling, issued unanimously by three judges appointed by Republican presidents, is a double win for folks like FCC boss Brendan Carr, who likely enjoys both the racism and protecting lumbering telecom monopolies from accountability for decades of predatory behavior. As usual, Carr insisted in a statement that fighting discrimination somehow discriminates against white people:

“Today’s appellate court decision is another common-sense win for nondiscrimination.

…the FCC’s decision to adopt those illegal rules only made it harder for providers to bridge the digital divide and took the FCC’s focus off of our core mission.

Now, the FCC is focused on advancing our Build America Agenda and ensuring that regulated entities do not discriminate, including through our efforts to end invidious forms of DEI discrimination. I commend the appellate court for correcting the FCC’s misguided 2023 decision. The court’s ruling follows the Supreme Court’s decision last week making clear that intentional discrimination is unlawful.”

That is, well, patently false. And weird. And an extremely dystopian inversion of reality by zealots. Consumer groups fighting for equitable and affordable broadband (like Public Knowledge) were, in contrast, not impressed. From Public Knowledge’s Legal Director, John Bergmayer:

“The practical effect is to eliminate a rule that addresses a documented problem,” he said. “Lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color get slower service, older equipment, and higher prices for the same product their richer neighbors buy. After today, the FCC can act only when it proves a smoking-gun case of conscious bias, which almost never exists in writing.”

This is just one of several efforts by Republicans to destroy efforts to mandate equitable and affordable broadband access, including Trump’s illegal destruction of the Digital Equity Act, the dismantling of programs that provide free Wi-Fi hotspots to rural school kids, and the general destruction of FCC authority to hold telecoms accountable for stuff like spying on you.

This is occurring at the same time that Trump Republicans are leveraging Carr’s same twisted, inverted logic on “DEI” and inverted discrimination to do everything from censor journalists and comedians to gerrymander maps, stripping representation rights away from millions of American minorities.

Great stuff. Thanks again to all the folks (especially rich Silicon Valley CEOs) who decided that a corrupt kakistocracy at the hands of racist zealots was just what an already struggling America needed.

Filed Under: 8th circuit, brendan carr, broadband, discrimination, fcc, fiber, high speed internet, racism, redlining

Sony is partnering with Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. (the parent company of Bandai Namco Entertainment) on a “collaborative pilot initiative” focused on generative AI and its role in the future of video production. AI was a big theme in the company’s latest earnings and corporate strategy presentation, with Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki describing the technology as an “amplifier of human imagination and a catalyst for new possibilities,” while insisting that it won’t replace artists or creators.

On the gen AI project with Bandai Namco — which admittedly sounds quite vague and may well not go anywhere — Totoki said the companies have seen “massive gains in speed and productivity per person.” He also highlighted “a lack of consistency and controllability” as an issue for professionals in the space who demand both of these things in their work, but said AI has allowed those involved in the project to achieve a level of sophistication in production that wasn’t previously possible due to time constraints.

Given Bandai Namco’s association with video games, the fact that Totoki didn’t explicitly talk about gaming with regards to the Gen AI project seems a bit odd (then again, it is a thorny topic right now). Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Hideaki Nishino, however, did have a lot to say about how AI in general is being embraced within PlayStation. Nishino said that development cycles — increasingly generation-spanning in the case of first-party PS5 games — can be sped up by AI, while “enabling more creators to enter the market.” 

What’s more concerning is Nishino’s admission that AI will create a “meaningful increase in the volume […] of content.” You know: slop. He added that that his company’s studios and IP are committed to ensuring that they only put out “high-quality” games that players come to PlayStation for.

Nishino talked about how studios like Naughty Dog and Sony’s San Diego Studio have adopted a facial animation tool called Mockingbird, which animates 3D models after they’ve been through performance capture. AI is also helping with hair animation, with models fed videos of real hairstyles and then outputting images with “hundreds of strands” modeled.

“As AI capabilities evolve, the role of our creators will remain unchanged,” Nishino said. “The vision, the design, and the emotional impact of our games will always come from the talent of our studios and performers. AI is meant to augment their capabilities, not replace them.”

AI is also at the heart of the PS5 Pro’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution upscaling tool, which was recently updated to be more effective and is now supported in a large number of third- and first-party games. PSSR is almost certain to be a big theme of the PS6 when that rolls around, but you only have to look at the community’s reaction to NVIDIA’s unveiling of DLSS 5 to see what happens when AI upscaling gets a bit too ambitious.

The other half of Sony’s presentation was focused on its gloomy quarterly earnings, in which the company announced a 46 percent downturn in PS5 sales in its fourth fiscal quarter compared to last year. Sony sold just 1.5 million PS5s in the last quarter, and like most large tech companies is currently battling rising costs and memory shortages. The company recently increased the price of its entire console lineup, the second price hike in 12 months.