Topic
Google's Gemini assistant, Android XR and its wearables.
Smart Glasses
Chosunbiz reports that Samsung will start selling its first AI glasses in mid-December in South Korea and the US, citing unnamed industry sources. Samsung hasn't confirmed a date, and a Samsung official told The Korea Herald in October that the launch would be in November.
Smart Glasses
Google has announced new Android XR and Android CLI tools that let developers test smart glasses apps without physical hardware, according to Digital Trends. Google's developer page lists emulator support for headsets and three kinds of glasses.
Guide
Both pair with Android phones and both have Gemini, and Samsung's costs about $20 less. The real split is the phone you carry, the health tools you want and how you plan to use LTE.
Guide
Google's Aug. 12 event brought the Pixel Watch 5, from $399, plus Pixel Buds features and an Olive Pixel Buds Pro 2. Here is what was announced, what each costs, and which health features have shipped since.
Guide
Fitbit Air is Google's screenless band, priced at $99 in Google's May announcement. Coaching sits behind Google Health Premium, which is free for three months and then $9.99 a month or $99 a year. Google's own pages disagree on which phones it supports.
Wearables
Google's Oct. 27 design post describes the Fitbit Edge tracker: a Hybrid OLED screen, a physical side button, a thin curved aluminum case and swappable bands. Here is what Google says, plus the price and availability reported so far.
Guide
Google and Samsung each sell a Wear OS watch for Android owners in the US: the Pixel Watch 5 from $399.99 and the Galaxy Watch9 from $379.99. What each costs, which phone it needs, and what the store pages leave out.
Analysis
At I/O on May 19, Google promised audio glasses with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, Gemini features for watches and glasses, Wear OS 7 and new developer tools. As of Oct. 25, the watch software has shipped and the glasses have not.
Guide
Google's store lists one Pixel Watch, the Pixel Watch 5, from $399 for the 41 mm and $429 for the 45 mm. Battery, charging, LTE, Gemini, the Google Health Premium fee, Android-only support and what changed from Pixel Watch 4.
Guide
XREAL Aura is the first pair of see-through glasses to run Google's Android XR. Orders opened Oct. 28 in the US, Canada and South Korea at a launch price from $1,099, with shipments starting in mid-November. The glasses weigh under 95 grams and connect to a pocket puck that runs the apps.
Guide
Android XR is the version of Android that Google built for headsets and smart glasses, with Gemini at its center. Here is what it does, which devices run it now, which are coming and how it compares with Apple's and Meta's platforms.
Guide
Gemini is built into Android XR, so it can see your apps and, if you allow it, your room. Here is what it does today on Samsung's Galaxy XR headset, how to control what it sees, and what Google says it will do on the audio glasses arriving this fall.
Guide
Google's Android XR runs on one headset you can buy today. XREAL's see-through Aura glasses are open for orders at launch pricing from $1,099 through the end of the year and ship in mid-November. Samsung's glasses are reported for mid-December, and glasses with a display have no date yet.
Guide
Samsung's first glasses, built with Google and designed with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, have cleared the FCC. Reports conflict on timing: a Samsung official told The Korea Herald they launch in November, while Chosunbiz reports mid-December. Samsung still hasn't announced a price or a name, and some of the details come only from leaks.
Guide
Google Glass went from a skydiving stunt in 2012 to a $1,500 prototype, a backlash over privacy and looks, a second life in factories and a final shutdown in 2023. Google is now back with Android XR glasses, made with Samsung and eyewear brands and due this fall.
Guide
Smart glasses went from a $1,500 developer gadget that some bars banned to millions of Ray-Bans a year. Here are the launches that shaped the category, with dates, prices and sources, from Google Glass to Meta Ray-Ban Display and Snap Specs.
Smart Glasses
The first see-through glasses to run Android XR start at $1,279 and are weeks from shipping. Owlchemy Labs, the Google-owned studio behind Job Simulator, is bringing a new $1.99 arcade game and four older ones.
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