Thirteen years after the failure of Glass, Google is trying to win back the smart glasses market

At the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, the California-based company unveiled two collections of smart glasses developed with technical support from Samsung: one designed by American designer Warby Parker, the other by South Korean designer Gentle Monster, both compatible with Android and Apple devices. While no specific date or price has been announced, the launch is expected this fall. For Google, this marks a long-awaited return to a field where it suffered a resounding failure: its Google Glass, launched in 2013 with an integrated camera, was abandoned after sparking intense controversy.

These new frames, dubbed "audio glasses" because they lack an integrated screen in the lenses, incorporate a microphone, a camera, and a discreet speaker. They will allow users to make calls, listen to music, take photos, or interact with the Gemini assistant. During the stage demonstration, a presenter illustrated their use without ever taking her phone out of her pocket, directly addressing the assistant to photograph the audience and then editing the image in a hand-drawn style, the result displayed in a few seconds on the room's screens.

A gamble on design against a competitor that has already sold seven million units.

This time, Google is resolutely betting on aesthetics to gain a foothold in a market where Meta has taken a considerable lead with its Ray-Ban glasses. Customers will be able to order custom-made prescription lenses, with comfort and discretion being the stated priorities for extended wear. The presence of a camera, unavoidable for vision assistance features, will nevertheless reignite questions already raised about the competitor's product regarding the privacy of individuals filmed without their consent.

Google is simultaneously working on a version with an integrated screen, similar to Meta's latest product, which has been on the market since the fall of 2025. This prototype has passed another stage of testing with developers, though the company has not provided further details or a release date. The series of announcements at Google I/O 2026, focused on the company's AI offensive against its American rivals, thus concluded with this return to connected accessories, a segment that Mountain View had attempted to create but which its competitors have successfully monetized.