Google gave reporters their first real hands-on with the display version of its Android XR smart glasses at I/O this week, and the early verdict is promising but unfinished. According to TechCrunch AI, the prototype combines an in-lens display with Gemini, camera capture, music playback, and live translation, all overlaid on the real world. This is the follow-up to the audio-only glasses Google confirmed will ship this fall.
The hardware is being built in partnership with Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, and Samsung, blending Google’s silicon and software with established eyewear design. The shipping product will pair with both iOS and Android phones. What TechCrunch AI tested was a deliberately plain frame so engineers could iterate on the display tech and battery life without worrying about cosmetics.
What the glasses actually do
- Summon Gemini with a long press. A two-second hold on the right temple wakes the assistant with a chime. In the demo build, this also fires up the camera, though the shipping version will let users toggle that behavior.
- Play music through open-ear speakers. TechCrunch AI reported the audio wasn’t a replacement for proper earbuds, but the trade-off is that you can still hear people around you without engaging a transparency mode.
- Capture photos and video. A dedicated button snaps a still; a long press records video. You can also ask Gemini to take a photo and edit it on the fly, like turning a subject into an anime character via Nano Banana. The round trip took roughly 45 seconds on the venue’s overloaded Wi-Fi.
- Show widgets in your field of view. The home screen surfaces weather, countdowns, walking directions, Uber pickup details, and quick launchers for apps like Maps and Translate. Users can even design their own widgets with AI.
- Translate languages in real time. TechCrunch AI called this the standout demo: rapid Spanish was auto-detected, transcribed to English text on the lens, and spoken into the ear by Gemini. Audio-only glasses will get translation too, just without the on-lens captions.
How it compares
The pitch lands between Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and Apple’s Vision Pro. Meta’s glasses nail audio and cameras but skip a visual display. Apple’s headset has rich visuals but isn’t something you’d wear to the grocery store. Google’s bet is that a lightweight monocular or dual display, paired with Gemini, fits in the middle.
Caveats from the demo
- The prototype doesn’t yet detect when it’s placed on or removed from your head. The shipping version will.
- The display looked fuzzy through prescription contacts, and TechCrunch AI’s reviewer felt eye strain over the right eye after a short session.
- Music volume maxed out and still struggled against ambient noise in the demo space.
- The unit tested had a single display over the right eye, though the platform supports dual displays and audio-only variants.
What’s next
Google hasn’t named a release window or price for the display glasses. The audio-only models ship this fall and will serve as the on-ramp, with the visual version positioned as the next step. The fact that Google is letting outsiders touch a prototype this early suggests the team wants feedback signals before locking the final hardware.
The takeaway from TechCrunch AI’s session: the experience already works well enough that frequent travelers might buy them for live translation alone. The remaining question is whether Google can shrink the optics, fix the eye-strain issues, and deliver battery life that survives a real day before competitors close the gap. Full details on the hands-on are available at the original TechCrunch AI report.