Google’s history with smart glasses hasn’t exactly been the beacon of successful tech innovations, but that could change with a new pair of smart glasses powered by Google’s Project Astra.
If you’re unfamiliar with Project Astra, Google initially unveiled this new project it was working on back during Google I/O in May. It was a mostly promising new tech that would leverage Google’s powerful AI to serve up answers to questions and identify things based on what the device’s camera sees. In Google’s demo, the tech was shown working on a Pixel smartphone. It was a pretty impressive display of what could be done with future wearables. Provided they also possess a camera that can see things.
And provided Google actually decided to launch something in this product market again. Google Glass wasn’t exactly the poster child for success for numerous reasons. But fast forward several years, and it’s clear there’s a market for devices like smart glasses. If things are done right. Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses prove that. Now, it seems Google might actually be considering launching a new pair of smart glasses. Project Astra would most likely be powering this new product.
Project Astra smart glasses will be tested in the form of a prototype
It’s important to note that these aren’t a real product yet and may never become one. However, Google has confirmed that it’s testing this tech on a pair of prototype glasses. As reported by The Verge, the glasses will be tested in the near future. The confirmation comes from Google’s Deep Mind team. Specifically from Product Manager Bibo Xu. “A small group will be testing Project Astra on prototype glasses, which we believe is one of the most powerful and intuitive form factors to experience this kind of AI,” Xu said.
These comments were made as part of a press briefing prior to Google’s announcements for Gemini 2.0 – Google’s next version of its Gemini AI tech that can be found integrated with most of its current products.
While it doesn’t explicitly state that the company plans to launch a consumer product, it’s entirely possible. Testers will reportedly be part of the Trusted Tester program. Not all testing will take place on these prototype glasses though. Some of these testers will have access to Project Astra on smartphones like the Pixel 9. Meanwhile, others will test via the glasses. So while the glasses could be in development, Google also seems to be planning for Astra to be more generally available on its Pixel phones too.
Google has already patented a new pair of smart glasses
The other thing to take into account here is that Google has patented a new pair of smart glasses. The patent was discovered on December 10, and the glasses reportedly come with a display, a speaker, and eye-tracking technology. With this patent, Google might be looking to turn the prototypes that are part of the test into this potential product. You can also see the prototype glasses in the video below.
