Google unveils plans to try again with smart glasses in 2026

Google plans to launch smart glasses powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in 2026, after its previous high-profile attempt to enter the market ended in failure.

The tech giant set expectations high in 2013 when it unveiled Google Glass, billed by some as the future of technology despite its odd appearance with a bulky screen positioned above the right eye.

Google pulled the product in 2015, less than seven months after its UK release, but is now planning on re-entering the market with smart glasses with a cleaner look.

But it comes after Meta has already made waves with its smart specs, which have sold two million pairs as of February.

Google’s new tech will let users interact with its AI products, such as its chatbot Gemini.

It plans to launch two different varieties – one designed to provide assistance without any kind of screen, and another which has a display on the glasses themselves.

Google has not said what the first of the two types of AI glasses it is working on will be, but it will be ready in 2026.

Technology analyst Paolo Pescatore told the BBC that the tech firm “must avoid the pitfalls of its previous failed attempts.”

“Arguably, the move was ahead of its time, poorly conceived and executed,” he said.

“Now represents an opportune moment, thanks to the success of Gemini.”

Google will also have to contend with Meta, which unveiled its own AI-powered glasses earlier this year, having built on its existing collaborations with luxury eyewear brands Ray-Ban and Oakley.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, the sector saw a surge in the first half of 2025, driven by demand for Meta’s devices and the launch of similar products by smaller brands.

It said sales of AI glasses had grown by more than 250% compared to the previous year.

Google Glass was launched in 2013 as a pair of thin, wireframe glasses with a chunky right arm to accommodate a camera built into the corner of the right lens.

Wearers could use the camera to take images and record their surroundings while simultaneously interacting with a digital display.

The device created a lot of excitement when it first appeared at a Google event in June 2012.

But after its launch the following year, concerns about its impact on privacy, potential for abuse and questions about its style and usefulness arose – and grew until Google said it would stop making them in that form in 2015.

A revamped version, Google Glass Enterprise, appeared two years later but was retired in 2023.

Former BBC Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones was among those who deemed Google’s device in its initial form “a failure.”

The success of so-called wearable computers, he wrote, would likely depend on having the tech to bring their potential to life and them being “both attractive to wear and so easy to use that you forget that you have them on”.

Today, tech giants have tried to make AI and smart glasses more wearable by partnering with designer eyewear brands – and can pack more power and features into smaller, sleeker frames.

But there remain concerns about privacy and usability.