Meta also does have some trust issues, stemming from its user privacy practices and its occasional data leaks.
“Meta is not the most trusted technology brand, shall we say, by some distance, when it comes to data privacy and security,” says Ben Hatton, a tech analyst at CCS Insights. “That may be holding the market back. If Meta is the only player, and Google can come in and say, this is all on device, this is all secure, this is all just kept within your device, then more heads may be turned.”
The place where Meta has the most leverage is in the style game. Its partnership with EssilorLuxottica—the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley—has helped it make smart glasses that generally look like something people would be happy to wear in public. The notable exception is the design of the chunky new Meta Display glasses, which still earn some style points even though they are bulky, a bit ill-fitting, and definitely “computer glasses.”
Google’s new glasses will almost certainly also look heavy and weird. A little over a year ago, Google showed off its Android XR platform on some thick-framed chonks, and the Google glasses that have been appearing in recent news articles and in new demo videos shot this month look about the same. (Google has promised us our own demo very soon.)
Google’s partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster could also yield frames with a more appealing aesthetic, but those glasses will likely have fewer features than the more powerful models from Samsung and other Android XR partners.
“I don’t think Meta’s in trouble at all right now,” Urbani says. “Google is great as a tech company, but there’s a lot they have to learn in terms of fashion and selling glasses.”
Google’s broader goal with its smart glasses effort is the expansion of Android XR as a platform. Even if Google can’t nail the fashion element, its software could attract a third party who can.
“Nobody actually wants to ship a pair of glasses and build an entire operating system and foundational AI model to run on it,” Sag says. “I think people want to build glasses with an operating system that already exists and with an application ecosystem that’s already built.”
So when will you get to wear Google’s new glasses and start pinging Gemini, taking video calls hands-free, and hailing Ubers from your face?
“I certainly expect them to be out by the middle of the year,” Hatton says. And maybe even before then. “If they’re going to bring out sunglasses as a form factor, you probably want them out for spring so people can start thinking about buying them for the summer.”
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