- Sergey Brin said at Google I/O that Project Astra is the “perfect hardware” for smart glasses.
- Google's co-founder said the tech giant developed Google Glass, which famously failed, by a decade too early.
- Google on Tuesday unveiled Project Astra, an AI agent that was also working on prototype glasses.
Google announced a series of AI updates and new releases at its I/O event on Tuesday, including Project Astra, an AI agent that can understand and summon real-world objects through your phone's camera.
At one point in the demo, users don the prototype smart glasses and continue a conversation with the AI agent. This immediately sparked speculation that Google Glass might be making a comeback.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin was undaunted by the idea when interviewed by reporters after the event.
Brin, who retired as company president in 2019, told reporters at the conference that Project Astra is the “perfect hardware” for AI-powered glasses, CNET reported.
“It's interesting, because it's like the perfect piece of hardware,” Brin said. “It's like the killer app of today in 10 years,” he said, referring to the idea of running an AI agent on smart glasses like the one the company released 10 years ago.
Brin showed off Google Glass on stage at Google I/O 2012, showing off its video capture capabilities.
Google released smart glasses to a select group of testers in 2013 and began selling them more broadly in 2014. The $1,500 Google Glass Explorer Edition is controlled by voice commands or a touchpad on the side and can do things like send texts and capture photos. video.
Google Glass has been around for nearly a decade, and the company launched two Enterprise editions before discontinuing sales of the glasses altogether.
However, the company famously flopped, failing to gain traction primarily because the product lacked the so-called killer app that made glasses a necessity. Reviews weren't kind either. Users complained about poor battery life, slow uploads, poor camera quality, and unstable voice recognition. Some did not like the idea of being recorded in public.
Ten years later, Brin said he still thinks Google Glass' form factor is “pretty cool.”
“Unfortunately, the timing was wrong,” he said, according to a Bloomberg report. “Maybe I should have timed it a little better.”
“Hands-free is the idea,” Brin said, pointing to other companies' AI efforts in developing wearable clips and similar devices that allow consumers to interact with AI more discreetly, according to the report.
“There are a lot of things I'd like people to comment on, whether it's cooking or playing sports or if you want help with this,” Brin said, according to Bloomberg. “It's awkward to do that with a cell phone in your hand.”
Sergei isn't the only one hinting at the return of Google Glass. In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at the possibility of a return to devices integrated with Project Astra AI agents, or at least some type of smart glasses.
“Project Astra shines when it has a glasses-like form factor,” Pichai told CNBC. “We are working on a prototype.”
Google rival Meta is now the leader in wearable AI devices thanks to the surprise hit of its $299 Meta Ray-Ban. The glasses don't have a screen, but they do have a camera and speaker, allowing you to interact with Meta's AI assistant to capture photos and videos, as well as identify objects and locations in front of the user. .
Zuckerberg said sales of the glasses exceeded expectations and the company expanded its lineup. During Meta's first-quarter earnings call, the CEO said he thought the glasses “could become a pretty meaningful and growing platform” sooner than expected.
Amazon also launched its own version of smart glasses in 2019. Alexa-enabled Echo Frames sell for about $250 and offer similar perks to AirPods, allowing users to listen to music, hear incoming call notifications, and ask questions to the Alexa virtual assistant. .
Other wearable AI gadgets have similarly failed. The $699 Humane AI Pin also requires an additional $24 monthly fee, but has been criticized for having limited features. The company and other AI-only devices face the challenge of convincing people that the device offers features consumers don't have on their smartphones.
But with companies like Google and OpenAI showing off how great next-level AI is, don't be surprised if the idea of AI glasses gains more traction.
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