Google gives its Gemini smartglasses their first live demo

Google has been hyping up its multimodality dreams for years, but mostly inside heavily produced Astra concept videos. Now, we finally got to see what Android XR looks like in the real world.

During a recent TED talk, Shahram Izadi, Google’s VP of augmented and extended reality, took the stage to live-demo a functional pair of smartglasses running Gemini on top of Android XR, the OS it is co-developing with Samsung.

Ray-Ban form factor with an in-lens display

The demo hardware features bold, glossy black frames that immediately look reminiscent of Ray-Ban Meta glasses. They pack cameras, open-ear speakers, and microphones so Gemini can see and hear alongside you, plus phone pairing for calls.

The critical difference from Meta's current hit? Google’s pair has a tiny color display embedded inside the lens.

During the live demo, Gemini's visual short-term memory stole the show. It accurately remembered where the wearer put down a hotel keycard and recalled the title of a book they casually glanced at earlier. Gemini also parsed complex diagrams, translated foreign speech in real time, and projected turn-by-turn navigation arrows directly onto the in-lens screen.

Izadi also briefly showcased Android XR running on a full mixed-reality headset, which looks visually similar to Apple’s Vision Pro with floating windows and pinch gestures, though driven heavily by Gemini's conversational reasoning.

The long road to retail

While the glasses looked surprisingly finished on stage, you won’t be buying them anytime soon.

Izadi did not provide a release window during his 16-minute talk. According to a report from The Korean Economic Daily, the Google and Samsung smartglasses are not expected to launch until 2026, slipping past earlier rumors of a late 2025 arrival.

Samsung’s Android XR headset (codenamed Project Moohan) will likely arrive first in 2025. Still, Google’s eyewear will likely beat Meta’s consumer Orion glasses to market, which aren’t slated until late 2027.

Why it matters

For everyday consumers, this looks like the exact sweet spot smart eyewear needs: lightweight frames, conversational multimodal AI, and a minimal heads-up display for navigation and memory prompts without the awkward bulk of a full headset.

However, Google’s timeline looks like a massive vulnerability. Waiting until 2026 feels painfully sluggish in an AI hardware ecosystem that moves at breakneck speed. By the time this launches, the market will be flooded with cheaper Ray-Ban Meta clones and alternate HUD glasses, risking an arrival to an exhausted, unimpressed audience. Google has nailed the software vision, but once again, execution speed might be its own worst enemy.