Google launches Intelligent Eyewear smart glasses from $395, shipping December 10

Google has launched Intelligent Eyewear, its second attempt at smart glasses. Pre-orders opened on November 12, and retail availability in the United States and South Korea starts on December 10. The glasses are sold through two eyewear brands, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, and Samsung engineered the hardware. Samsung's own announcement puts the full lineup at 30 designs.

Prices depend on the brand. Warby Parker frames start at $395 and come in three styles, named Alden, Reid and Wren, with 14 variations across optical and sun versions. Some Warby Parker colours include pine, saddle and jet black. Gentle Monster starts at $449 and offers six frames in bold colours such as dark red, pink, gray and yellow, with 16 variations in total. Lenses can be tinted, clear, blue or brown, and prescription options are available for most designs.

Google says the frames are meant to be worn all day. Sources differ on weight: one report gives 40 to 44 grams, while another gives around 41 grams. A 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera records photos and video at 3K and 30 frames per second, or at 1080p. Four microphones capture spatial audio, and two open-ear speakers play sound. Users control the glasses with a touchpad that accepts taps and swipes, with voice commands using a new "Hey Gemini" hotword, or with a paired Pixel Watch or Galaxy Watch. Support for Fitbit Air is due next year.

Each pair has a physical on/off switch, so the wearer can use them as ordinary glasses. A white light turns on when a photo or video is saved to the gallery. If that light is covered or tampered with, recording stops, and a hardware check runs while the glasses charge. Recording also stops when the glasses come off. Images and video from camera-based Gemini requests, such as visual search or translation, are not saved to Gemini History. Google says these visuals are not used to train AI models or for ad targeting, and bystander faces are removed before Gemini processes them. Tom's Guide reports that Google bans accessories designed to hide the recording light from its shopping and ad services, and bans apps offering real-time facial identification on Google Play.

The battery is rated at nine hours on a single charge. The charging case, when fully charged, gives seven more full charges. Power passes through contact pins on the underside of the nose bridge. The glasses run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Other specifications include Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6E and IPX4 water resistance.

Compatibility is a key question. The companion app supports Galaxy S, Galaxy S FE, and Galaxy Z Fold, Flip and Fold Ultra series phones running One UI 9.0 or later. Google says the glasses work with Android and iOS. Tom's Guide reports they work with supported Pixel, Galaxy and iPhone models, but some features are Android-only at launch. Features include contextual visual search, messages, Google Maps directions, live translation in more than 70 languages, and Gemini Guided Vision, which gives spoken descriptions to people with vision impairments. The glasses also play music from YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music and Audible.

Early reviews are mixed. Tom's Guide found live translation the strongest feature in a demonstration, although there was a short delay at first. Its reviewer said the frames look close to ordinary eyewear, which makes it harder for people nearby to notice recording. Android Authority's hands-on review questions why a buyer would choose them. These are first impressions from demonstrations, not long-term tests.

Several things remain unclear. Sources do not show how well the glasses work across Calendar, Gmail and Google Photos in daily use, or which features depend on the phone and setup. The weight figures also differ between reports, and the final performance of the battery and camera has not been tested over time.