Google Iris Smart Glasses May Resurface With Google Assistant

It was reported in June that Google had ceased the development of Iris. Iris is an augmented reality eyewear initiative that aims to expand upon the technology it has acquired from North. Live translation spectacles, an early iteration of the hardware, were unveiled at the previous year’s Google I/O. In a related endeavor, more recent Pixel phones were utilized to facilitate more intricate applications and experiences on the Glass Enterprise Edition 2, which has since been discontinued as well.

Although the cancellation was disappointing, it did not preclude the possibility that work on Iris could be resumed in the future. The reason is that numerous Google employees at the time were informed that the project could be renewed. More recent reports from August indicated that OEMs, including Samsung, were being briefed on Iris and the concept of augmented reality smart spectacles with a release date of 2025.

Based on the most recent beta release of the Google application for Android, it appears that progress may have been restored. A newly added string in the application, labeled “iris,” explains that, in lieu of uttering “Hey Google,” long-pressing on the right temple will activate the Google Assistant.

<string name=”assistant_bisto_oobe_iris_finish_setup_description_no_hotword”>Just touch & hold the right temple to talk to your Assistant.</string>

Additionally, the Sony LinkBuds support the same action of stroking the temple in order to initiate the Assistant. We have verified that the string in question pertains to devices endowed with the “iris_device” attribute by Google and not to the LinkBuds. This might imply that Iris is a single piece of Google-made hardware, or it might more broadly refer to AR glasses.

It appeared from the prior research that Google’s forthcoming augmented reality (AR) spectacles would emulate the Focals by North in numerous ways. It includes the implementation of ring-worn controls for software interaction. As demonstrated here, this type of device would require additional touch gestures to function, such as those used with Assistant.

It is currently unknown whether Google will persevere this time around and develop true augmented reality smart glasses by either introducing its own hardware or cooperating with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Two examples of virtual reality headsets powered by Android are the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest line. Google and Samsung are slated to release their own Android-based XR headsets in the coming months.

Check out: Apple’s Augmented Reality (AR) headset’s release might face a delay.