Google’s first AI glasses are coming in 2026

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Google is back in the smart glasses game, and this time, it swears the hardware won’t make you look like you escaped from a robotics lab. 

In a company blog post, Google confirmed it will launch its first AI-powered glasses in 2026, marking the company’s most ambitious wearable move since the short-lived Google Glass.

The plan has been brewing since Google’s I/O event in May, where the company casually dropped partnerships with fashion-forward eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. 

The pitch? Make AI hardware that blends into your face without screaming: Hi, I am the future.

Google says the goal is simple: hardware that “fits seamlessly into your life,” meaning lightweight, stylish, and less noticeable than, say, strapping a Samsung Galaxy XR headset to your forehead while buying milk.

The company is working on multiple models. 

One version will be screen-free and operate like a voice-driven assistant with speakers, microphones, and cameras, perfect for reminders, navigation, or asking Gemini deep questions like “Did I lock my front door?” 

The more advanced model includes a display embedded in the lens, visible only to the wearer, for things like turn-by-turn directions or real-time captions, basically, teleprompter glasses for everyday life.

There’s also Project Aura, a wired XR prototype built by Xreal, which sits somewhere between smart glasses and a full headset. 

It can act as a portable workspace or movie theater, the dream setup for people convinced they’ll finally finish that screenplay while wearing futuristic eyewear at a coffee shop.

With Meta already selling Ray-Ban smart glasses and Apple rumored to be cooking up its own pair, Google’s move signals a looming face-wearable hardware showdown.

Google has already committed $75 million to support Warby Parker’s development, and will double that if things go well, potentially taking an equity stake.

In other words, the companies that once fought over your phone are now fighting over your face. 

The future may be nearer than it looks, and next time someone zones out while talking to you, they may not be ignoring you. They may just be reading their glasses.