Google restarts AI glasses: Foxconn as the manufacturer, Samsung as the designer, expected to launch in Q4 2026

According to "Intelligent Emergence," Google has initiated two AI glasses projects at the end of last year, and both projects have now entered the POC (Proof of Concept) stage, intensively advancing component selection and ID design.

Insiders indicate that the hardware manufacturer for Google's AI glasses is Foxconn, the reference design is provided by Samsung, and the chips are supplied by Qualcomm. Google is also in contact with Chinese suppliers, including Goertek.

Additionally, the earliest release date for Google's AI glasses may be Q4 2026.

It is noteworthy that, although Google released the AR glasses Project Aura, developed in collaboration with the Chinese AR glasses brand Xreal, at the I/O conference in May this year, the aforementioned sources stated that the two new AI glasses projects are not related to Project Aura and are parallel projects.

Regarding product definition, Google's AI glasses will likely feature an optical solution with waveguide plates and will be equipped with cameras.

"Intelligent Emergence" learned that one of the project leaders for Google's AI glasses is Michael Klug, the head of platform engineering at Google Labs—who was once a core member of the star startup Magic Leap and holds multiple patents in fields such as light field display.

(Note from the author: The former unicorn company in the AR field was valued at up to $6 billion, with one of its representative works being "the whale jumping out in the stadium.")

Google is a pioneer in the smart glasses industry. In 2012, Google co-founder Sergey Brin showcased Google Glass to the world with a stunning skydiving live broadcast, thus opening the industry's imagination for wearable devices and the concept of "augmented reality." However, due to privacy issues related to photography in public places, the controversial Google Glass was discontinued in 2015.

It wasn't until after 2017 that Google, unwilling to give up, resumed its exploration in the glasses direction, but the strategy became more cautious—the product concept shifted from a flashy prototype to a tool for solving practical problems, and the commercialization direction transitioned from consumer-grade to B2B, landing in logistics, medical training, remote equipment maintenance, and other fields.

Today, in the field of AI glasses, although Google has fallen behind Meta Ray-Ban, it is not entering the battle unprepared. Before launching the new AI glasses project, Google has been accelerating the completion of the infrastructure for AI glasses.

For instance, as early as 2023, Google has allied with Samsung and Qualcomm to launch an operating system specifically for XR devices, Android XR. To enhance the content ecosystem, this operating system directly connects to Google's Play Store, leveraging Google's vast application advantages In terms of AI capabilities, Google already has the most advanced Gemini AI model, which integrates natural language understanding, multimodal reasoning, knowledge base, and generative capabilities.

After 2023, Google has continued to take actions to deploy Gemini onto its Pixel mobile hardware. The powerful Gemini is set to be one of the core competitive advantages of Google's AI glasses in the future.

Additionally, at last year's I/O conference, Google showcased the AI agent Project Astra, which incorporates the capabilities of the Gemini model. This agent features visual reasoning, memory, and conversational experiences. At that time, Google demonstrated these functionalities on a pair of smart glasses.

Therefore, for the many major players eyeing the AI glasses market, Google's actions are significant; it is a versatile player without weaknesses—boasting a content ecosystem, operating system, and the crucial foundation of a large AI model and agent. More importantly, Google has a longer history of exploration in the glasses industry than other players.

The AI glasses field is welcoming one of the strongest competitors in history.

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