Google Collaborates with Leading Eyewear Brands for New Android XR Smartglasses

Okay, so get this. Google just threw out this news about teaming up with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to whip up the first Android XR smartglasses. Kinda like when Meta buddied up with EssilorLuxottica for their Ray-Ban smartglasses. Meta and their fancy pals launched those slick, stylish Ray-Ban things a while ago. So maybe Google thought, “Why not us too?”

Honestly, no shiny Android XR specs are out yet, but Google’s chatting with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to get the first batch rolling. Apparently, these glasses are gonna flaunt Google’s Gemini AI and have some visual magic with on-board displays. Sounds futuristic, right?

Oh, quick tangent—Warby Parker’s this cool American brand from 2010, doing the whole direct-to-consumer thing, making glasses less mind-numbingly expensive. Gentle Monster’s their South Korean counterpart, kinda following the same beat. But when you line them up against EssilorLuxottica… let’s just say it’s like comparing pebbles to a mountain.

EssilorLuxottica’s been in cahoots with Meta for a while, churning out new Ray-Ban smartglasses versions with that classic touch.

Going back to Google—they’re like “Hey, if we’re diving into this XR thing, we need some swag,” hence the collab with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Smart move, I suppose?

Thinking back, Google Glass popped up in 2012 (feels like forever ago). They were these compact gadgety things. Super nifty then but, let’s be real, they looked kinda awkward. Like, not the sort you’d want to wear at a family reunion or anything. That lopsided design? Yeah, not exactly a style win. So they scrapped that, put on their thinking caps, and just bided their time for tech to catch up with their dreams.

No clue when we’ll actually see these Android XR smartglasses on shelves, or how much dough they’ll demand, but word is developers are getting access to start tinkering on the XR stuff later this year. Exciting, right? Or maybe it’s just me.