Eyewear giants Gentle Monster and Warby Parker are set to launch their first Android XR smart glasses next month, built in collaboration with Samsung and Google.
Pre-orders are now open for both Gentle Monster and Warby Parker Android XR-powered frames.
Much like Meta’s array of smart glasses include built-in cameras and off-ear speakers so you can capture video and photos, and also interact with AI for things like live translation, turn-by-turn directions, and making calls and listening to music.
Instead of Meta AI though, you have Google’s Gemini in your ear, with many of the familiar Google services
Gentle Monster and Warby Parker smart glasses will be available in their respective retail stores in select countries (more below), with demos also available at select Google Stores; in-store and online availability is coming December 10th. Check out the styles, pricing and availability below.
Gentle Monster
Gentle Monster is taking a decidedly more high-end approach to its Android XR glasses, with frames starting at $449 and ranging up to $489.
The company revealed three more designs in addition to the three initially shown before today. All six are set to include a variety of color combos, with some models selectable in dark red, pink, gray, and yellow colorways, and the option to select tinted, clear, blue, and brown lenses. Prescription options are available for most frames, the company says.
Notably, Gentle Monster’s collection will only be available initially in the United States and South Korea. At the time of this writing, the company hasn’t released plans for a wider international rollout.
You can pre-order all six direct from Gentle Monster’s website.
Warby Parker
Although not as cheap as, say, Meta’s latest $300 smart glasses, which omit the Ray-Ban/Oakley branding, Warby Parker appears to be rounding out Android XR’s lower end with optical or sun styles starting at $395.
The frames were created by Warby Parker’s in-house design team in New York City, and feature three styles—Alden, Reid, and Wren. The company says these was inspired by some of its most popular designs.
Warby Parker smart glasses will be available in Pine, Saddle, and Jet Black colorways, with a wide range of prescription, width, and lens options, the company says.
You can find all three direct from Warby Parker, which notably only sells in the US at this time. You can also book a demo in participating locations.
Warby Parker & Gentle Monster Specs, Privacy
This first generation of Android XR smart glasses feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, a single 12MP front-facing camera with indicator LED, and up to 9 hours of use per charge, with a portable charging case providing seven extra charges.
Notably, that 12MP camera is ultra-wide, and is said to include HDR processing and image stabilization. It’s built-in mic array also captures audio spatially, the company says. All of the Android XR smart glasses are said to work with Android and iOS phones.
Undoubtedly, privacy has become a major concern for smart glasses wearers, as some places are even banning them outright. Just like with Meta smart glasses, taking a photo or video prompts an indicator LED to light up, and covering it or disabling it in some way will stop it from recording.
Google says that camera visuals captured by Gemini are not saved in your Gemini History and aren’t used to train AI models or target ads. What’s more, glasses are also designed to “automatically redact bystanders’ faces from these visuals before Gemini processes them,” the company says.
Data stored on glasses is also encrypted, and if data leaves your glasses, it’s also encrypted in transit to keep it private and secure.
Much like how Android works on mobile, Android XR lets you control which apps have access to the device’s camera and mic, which you can change at any time. Google says you can also review or delete your chats with Gemini, and adjust your settings at any time in Gemini History.
