Google Shows Off New AI-Powered Smart Glasses That Ditch the Phone

Google unveiled a new pair of smart glasses at its I/O conference on May 20, 2025. The prototype, called "Martha," can take photos, give you directions, and chat with you about what you see—all without touching your phone. You control it by talking to it and using hand gestures.

The glasses contain cameras, microphones, and speakers that work together with Google's AI assistant, Gemini. You can ask the glasses to translate what someone is saying in real time, translate signs in another language, or snap photos. Everything happens through voice commands. You never need to pull out your phone.

This is Google's comeback attempt. The company tried selling smart glasses called Google Glass back in 2013, but it didn't catch on. Sergey Brin, one of Google's founders, said the company learned from those earlier mistakes. This time, Google is taking a different approach to how the glasses work and who they want to sell them to.

How Google Plans to Build This

Google created a new operating system called Android XR specifically for glasses and headsets. The company is making it work with popular game engines and development tools that programmers already use, like Unity and Unreal Engine. This means software developers don't have to learn a completely new system to create apps for the glasses.

Any app that exists for regular Android phones and tablets will automatically be available on Android XR devices. This is important because it gives the glasses useful software right away, rather than launching with almost nothing to do.

Google is also supporting web-based apps and games—the same kind you run in your browser—so they will work on Android XR. This is another way to get content on the glasses without forcing developers to rebuild everything from scratch.

Who Is Making the Glasses

Google announced a partnership with Warby Parker, a popular eyewear brand. Instead of making and selling the glasses itself, Google is letting Warby Parker build them. This is a big shift from Google's usual approach, where it makes its own reference devices.

The company set up a waiting list for people interested in buying the glasses when they become available. Google hasn't said when that will happen yet. This careful approach is different from Google Glass, which was hyped heavily before it was actually ready.

These smart glasses join other AI wearables in development. Meta and Apple are also working on their own versions. Google is betting that the real draw of its glasses is the AI—you can ask Gemini questions, get real-time help, and have a natural conversation with the AI just by talking.

Why This Might Actually Work This Time

The earlier Google Glass failed partly because wearing visible computing hardware felt socially awkward, and it didn't do much that justified that awkwardness. Most of what it offered—checking notifications, snapping photos—your phone already did better. There wasn't a good reason to wear it.

This new version has something different. An AI assistant that can have real conversations, instantly translate what people are saying, and answer questions about what you're looking at could actually be useful in ways a phone isn't. That might make people willing to wear smart glasses.

Google is also spacing out its release strategy. The company is giving developers time to build and test software before consumer hardware ships. This gives the glasses a fighting chance to have enough useful apps and features ready at launch, something the original Google Glass struggled with.

What Comes Next

The glasses are positioned as something to use alongside your phone, not replace it. They're designed for times when you're moving around—getting directions while walking, chatting with an AI while your hands are busy, understanding someone who speaks a different language. They're not meant to replace a computer or a phone.

Whether these glasses will actually catch on depends on whether Warby Parker can make them look good enough that people want to wear them, and whether Gemini's AI actually works well in real situations. After years of failed smart glasses, Google is betting that combining better hardware design with genuinely useful AI will finally make the case for wearing a computer on your face.