I wore Google's Android XR glasses again - and my limit-testing should scare Meta and Apple

['During Google\'s two-hour keynote this week, the company spent a generous 12 minutes discussing Android XR and the "Intelligent Eyewear" genre that it encompasses. But when you\'ve got hardware partners in Samsung and Qualcomm, and a rich software ecosystem to build around, that\'s all the time you really need to send a message.', 'Google is effectively launching three pairs of smart glasses by the end of this year: audio-only models from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, Project Aura with Xreal, and a reference model with a single-view display. Also, the glasses are supercharged by Gemini, and after demoing the latest features at Google I/O this week, I can live with that.

It may be time for you to embrace it, too.', "My first encounter with Google's Android XR reference glasses, a pair with a built-in display, tap gestures, and multimodal Gemini capabilities, was exactly one year ago at I/O. It was a brief, five-minute demo that mainly highlighted the wearable's lightweight form factor for me. For my third and latest demo, I was essentially limit-testing the glasses' AI capabilities, with free rein to prompt Gemini with things my wildest, post-keynote mind could imagine.", "Let's face it: most of us aren't going to ask our smart glasses to play make-believe.

But the idea of such wearables as a natural extension of our smartphones, thanks to seamless app integrations and ecosystems, feels like the best path -- one that Google has the right to win and, for now, use as leverage over Meta and Apple. I've spent a lot of time wondering where AI truly belongs in our lives, and I may have found my answer in Mountain View this week.", "Getting quick access to Gemini on your phone, laptop, and smartwatch is great, but its sweet spot is ambient accessibility. Whether you're holding onto a subway pole with smart glasses on, driving through traffic on a rainy day, or have lost your remote to navigate Netflix on your TV, a highly connected, hands-free assistant may just be the most plausible future of the technology.", 'The Xreal-designed wearable, Project Aura, is a more portable version of the Samsung Galaxy XR headset.

You can engage with floating apps and windows anchored within the 70-degree field-of-view display, pinch and pull various UI elements, and stream content from a Steam Deck while running Gemini Live for in-game guidance.']