Google’s smart glasses will have the best software, but they’ll have to win with style, too

Meta also has some trust issues, stemming from its location User Privacy Practices And from time to time Data leak.

“Meta is not the most trusted technology brand, by some distance, when it comes to data privacy and security,” says Ben Hatton, technology analyst at CCS Insights. “Maybe that will hinder the market. If Meta is the only player, and Google can come in and say, ‘All of this is on the device, all of this is secure, and all of this is just kept inside your device,’ it might attract more attention.”

The place where the Meta has the most influence is in game style. Its partnership with EssilorLuxottica — the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley — has helped it make smart glasses that generally look like something people would be happy to wear in public. the A notable exception is the design of the new chunky Meta Display glasses, which still earn some style points even though they are a bit bulky and awkward, and definitely ‘computer glasses’.

The new Google Glass is also sure to look heavy and awkward. A little over a year ago, Google showed off the Android XR platform to some Thick framed chonks, the recently introduced Google Glass News articles And in new Demo videos Fire this month looks about the same. (Google has promised us our own demo very soon.)

Google’s partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster could also yield frames with a more attractive aesthetic, but these glasses will likely have fewer features than more powerful models from Samsung and other Android XR partners.

“I don’t think Meta is in trouble at all right now,” Urbani says. “Google is great as a technology company, but they have a lot to learn when it comes to fashion and selling eyewear.”

Google’s broader goal with its smart glasses efforts is to expand Android XR as a platform. Even if Google can’t master the fashion element, its software could attract a third party that can.

“Nobody wants to actually ship a pair of glasses and build an entire operating system and underlying AI model to run on,” says Sage. “I think people want to build glasses with an operating system that already exists and with an application ecosystem that is already established.”

So when will you be able to don your new Google Glasses and start calling Gemini, making hands-free video calls, and calling Ubers from your face?

“I definitely expect them to be out by mid-year,” Hatton says. Maybe even before then. “If they’re going to come out with sunglasses as a form factor, you’d probably want them in the spring so people can start thinking about buying them for the summer.”