Google and Samsung unveiled smart glasses! They entice with Android XR, great design, and Gemini

Google and Samsung have been working on smart glasses since last October, when both companies announced a collaboration with the brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. At Tuesday’s developer conference, Google I/O 2026, both companies have now revealed what the final product will look like and what it will be capable of. The glasses will run on the Android XR system, and the entire experience is intended to revolve around the Gemini voice assistant.

Two Designs, One System

The strategy of both companies is guided by the principle of “fashion first, technology second.” Google itself states in the announcement that smart glasses only make sense if people are willing to wear them all day. For this reason, Samsung and Google decided not to build their own glasses from scratch, but to leverage the expertise of established brands. Gentle Monster is a South Korean brand popular among celebrities and in the fashion segment, while Warby Parker is an American company known for combining affordable frames with online sales. Each of them will incorporate the final product into their own collection.

Detailed hardware specifications are still missing; only the outline of the frames, an integrated camera, and a small LED indicator for recording are visible. Neither Google nor Samsung has disclosed the price, battery life, or chipset used. The glasses will function as a smartphone accessory and, according to Google, will pair with both Android and iPhones.

Glasses Talk, Glasses See, Glasses Order Coffee

So, what can the glasses do? Activation occurs via the voice command “Hey Google” or by tapping the frame. Once awakened, Gemini takes control of routine tasks – it reads incoming messages, summarizes notifications, calls a contact, creates a calendar event, or plays music. The speakers are built into the frames near the ears and, according to Google, are set so that the sound is not audible to those nearby.

The built-in camera unlocks another layer of features. The glasses can identify objects in the vicinity, find reviews for a restaurant you’re passing, or recognize traffic signs in a foreign country. Translation works both ways: written text on a sign or menu is converted into Czech via the earpiece, while spoken language is translated in real-time, and according to Google, it will attempt to preserve the speaker’s tone and voice color. The question remains how well this feature will work in languages less common than English.

The camera also serves for classic photo and video capture. During the presentation, Google also mentioned integration with the Nano Banana tool, which can edit a captured photo via voice command – for example, removing distracting elements in the background or (as the official example shows) “putting funny hats on everyone in the photo.”

The icing on the cake is a full-fledged navigation system with turn-by-turn voice instructions. According to Google, the glasses detect which direction the user is currently looking and adjust instructions accordingly. Gemini is also designed to handle multi-step background tasks: in the example given, it orders coffee from DoorDash while the phone remains in the pocket. Similarly, ordering a ride via Uber or a language lesson in the Mondly app is expected to work.

First Without a Display, Later With One

Google and Samsung are actually preparing two products. In autumn 2026, an audio variant will arrive, communicating with the user exclusively via headphones. This will be followed by a version with an integrated display, capable of showing information directly in the field of view. Neither a specific date nor the price for the second variant has been announced yet.

This approach strikingly resembles the strategy of competitor Meta. Meta first introduced the Ray-Ban Meta glasses without a display in 2023, and only last year unveiled the Ray-Ban Display model with a color display in the right lens and control via a wristband with a muscle tension sensor. The Ray-Ban Display has been sold since late September 2025 in the USA for 799 dollars, with the European market, including the UK, France, and Italy, expected to receive it this year. Google and Samsung have thus clearly opted for a proven method – first to ascertain how many customers are willing to purchase smart glasses at all, and only then to add a more expensive and technologically demanding variant with a display.

What We Don’t Know About the Glasses Yet

Despite an hour-long presentation at the I/O conference, key information remains unknown: price, exact release date, battery life, chipset used, or the countries where the glasses will actually be sold. Google only promised to reveal further details in the coming months. Given that the product is expected to arrive this autumn, the main wave of information can likely be expected during the summer months.

It is also questionable to what extent Gemini and other features will be available in Czech. Google has been gradually improving the localization of its services in recent years, and many AI features (such as Gemini Live) already work in Czech. However, for glasses focused on voice interaction, localization will be doubly important.

Would you wear smart glasses from Google and Samsung?

Source: Google Blog