Google’s Smart Glasses to Challenge Meta Ray-Ban Mash-Up
Smart tech is now everywhere you look, from smart speakers that can follow voice commands through to bulbs that can turn on or off based on certain conditions.
Now smart tech can literally be everywhere you look, thanks to the explosion in smart glasses that have begun to hit the market. As time goes by, they are only going to get smarter and allow us to do even more, thanks to the manner in which technology is getting smaller and what we can get out of it is improving all of the time.
Google looked to demonstrate that recently with their Android XR-based smart glasses.
What Meta Did
On the 27th of September 2023, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and others, announced that they were teaming up with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of sunglasses manufacturer Ray-Ban, in order to release some smart glasses.
Unlike other smart glasses manufacturers, the Meta ones do not feature a Heads-Up Display or a head-mounted display. Instead, they have two cameras and a microphone to allow you to communicate with the smart assistant, alongside open-ear speakers that allow for noise to be transmitted to you but not heard by those around you.
@chrisbrockhurst What do the Rayban Metas do and how does it sound when you use them? These are a Rayban X Meta collab that can take photos, video and play music and podcasts as well as having a voice assistant #cameragearaddicts #cameragear #cameragearlust #raybanmeta ♬ original sound – Chris Brockhurst
On the 23rd of April 2024, Meta announced that there was an update with Meta AI, which allows for the smart glasses to enable what it calls ‘multimodal input’ via the system’s Computer Vision.
The glasses have been reengineered in order to allow the various technological components to fit within the frame, whilst an LED light indicates when the cameras are being used; the latter being added after the fact in order to counter privacy concerns. The glasses come in either Round, Meteor or Wayfarer designs, offering either clear, tinted or prescription lenses for users.
What Google Are Releasing
Every year, Google hosts its developer conference, which is called Google I/O. At Google I/O 2025, the company announced a partnership with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker for some smart glasses that the company hopes will be able to take on Meta’s current dominance of the market.
The smart glasses are based on Android XR, which was launched with Qualcomm and Samsung in 2024. As part of the launch, Google also said that its partnership with Samsung will be expanded to the XR glasses, with many presuming that there will be iterations of glasses with different companies.
We’re happy to see Google entering a new chapter in smart glasses through its partnerships with Samsung, Gentle Monster & Warby Parker.
We’ve always believed that glasses would end up being the mainstream moment for XR. It creates an accessible form of human interaction that anyone can engage with
— Resolution Games (@resolutiongames.bsky.social) 21 May 2025 at 16:57
The glasses are augmented by Gemini, which is Google’s Artificial Intelligence service. Although many people are railing against the explosion of AI, if Google I/O 2025 is anything to go by, then you won’t be able to avoid it for very long. Virtually everything announced by the company was AI-based, with the integration of it into the glasses aiming to make life easier for the user.
Whilst many of the features are similar to those of the Meta Ray-Bans, such as speakers, a camera and a microphone, one of the big differences is the option to have a display within the glasses themselves.
It is the manner in which you can use the glasses that will help them stay ahead of the Meta movement, though. If you want to be able to walk somewhere, for example, then you can use the built-in screen to follow directions from Google Maps. You can look at photos of a coffee shop or restaurant to be able to see whether it is disabled accessible, say, or if it has the sort of vibe that you’re after.
If you’re with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you, Gemini can offer live translation in order to ensure that you’re not being left out of the conversation. In short, they will open up the world to people.
Part of a Wider Eco-System
Whilst the Android XR glasses are cool in and of themselves and will doubtless be a huge help for people who need the assistance from Gemini, it is the fact that they are just one part of a wider ecosystem that should excite people the most. Samsung’s Project Moohan is their answer to the Apple Vision Pro, meaning that it is a mixed-reality headset that uses the same Android XR as the smart glasses.
Google’s long-term vision is that what is fitted inside the Project Moohan headset will one day be able to fit into something more like the glasses, offering a much more streamlined service.
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Offering hand-tracking controls and, yes, more Gemini integration, you can pinch to select objects and move yourself around the display, whilst there is also a camera on board. If you have used the Apple Vision Pro, then all of the controls will feel entirely intuitive to you, whilst many of the things that you can do with it will also be the same.
If you want to watch a movie, you’ll be able to. If you want to look at some photos, you can. Project Moohan is still unwieldy and large at the moment, but the Android XR smart glasses show that integrating the technology may happen sooner than we think.