Google takes a page out of Meta’s book, announces new audio-powered smart glasses at IO 2026

Source: TechCrunch

Google is getting (back) into the smart glasses game.

At Google I/O on Tuesday, the company announced a new partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to produce a line of AI‑powered glasses. The devices will pair with Android and iOS devices and were designed in collaboration with Samsung. They are slated to be available later this year.

Google is calling the new devices “audio glasses,” allowing users to issue verbal commands and interact with its ecosystem of apps and services, including Gemini.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

The user simply talks to their glasses (the demo shared on Tuesday involved a Googler ordering a coffee online by merely talking to the glasses), and the device, when synced, complies.

Google has dabbled in smart glasses a number of times over the years. It notoriously launched Google Glass years ago, which ultimately helped spawn the derogatory term “glassholes.”

The smart glasses space has changed a little bit since then. Lately, major companies—most notably Meta—and a small army of startups and smaller firms have invested heavily in the space.