Google is returning to smart glasses — at the Google I/O conference, the company announced a partnership with Xreal to create a new device based on the Android XR OS called Project Aura. The Verge writes about this.
Unlike Samsung's Project Moohan headset, Project Aura looks more like current Xreal devices - it's an "optically transparent XR," meaning glasses with built-in displays that allow you to see digital content and the world around you at the same time. The images show cameras in the hinges and on the bridge of the nose, as well as microphones and buttons located on the arms.
The glasses will be integrated with Gemini artificial intelligence. Google sees XR as one of the main areas of development for its AI assistant. It is expected that Project Aura will be used not only for multimedia viewing, but also for tasks such as editing documents or interacting with information in real time. It is also known that there will be a Qualcomm chipset inside, specially optimized for XR devices.
Developers can already port apps to Android XR, with Google promising easy portability of apps from headsets to other form factors. The company hasn't revealed a launch date, but more details will be revealed at the Augmented World Expo in June 2025.
By the way, this year at I/O, Google also introduced a new AI Ultra plan for $250 per month, a real-time translation feature in Google Meet, and a new AI tool for creating interface designs, Stitch.