![\"Gentle](\"https:\/\/platform.theverge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/11\/androidxr7.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nGentle Monster\u2019s styles have a bolder, Y2K vibe. Photo by Owen Grove \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
But I was most surprised that the glasses automatically redact faces from any photo or video to protect bystander privacy. I asked Gemini to identify my video director, Owen Grove. Gemini told me it knew I was looking at a person, but it can\u2019t identify him because of privacy protections. We pull up a picture of our editor-in-chief, Nilay Patel. There, too, Gemini said that for privacy reasons, it can\u2019t identify a person from a photo either.<\/p>\n
Meta\u2019s glasses also can\u2019t do this. But what\u2019s striking here is that Google is making an active choice to take facial recognition completely off the table.<\/p>\n
The Warby Parker and Gentle Monster glasses have the customary privacy LED light that lights up whenever there\u2019s an intent to save visual data. Like Meta\u2019s glasses, there\u2019ll be protections in place to disable the glasses if tampering is detected. However, when I sit down to chat with Juston Payne, Google\u2019s senior director of product management for XR, he says Google intends to go much further than the LED light.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody might come up with some solution [to tamper with privacy LEDs] that our algorithms can\u2019t detect, so then the question becomes: So what can we do?\u201d says Payne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to target ads on it. We\u2019re not going to train Gemini on it. Humans aren\u2019t going to be able to use it to improve the models. We\u2019re also redacting faces before they actually go to the server in the first place, which then gets ahead of certain things that can obviously go sideways if you don\u2019t take those steps proactively.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just faces that\u2019ll get redacted either. Payne tells me that ambient noise \u2014 like bystander conversations \u2014 will also get scrubbed. The glasses will only process audio from the glasses-wearer using beam-forming mics. Camera and mic access will also require opt-in permissions.<\/p>\n
This photo was taken on a Gentle Monster pair. The camera is 12MP.<\/p>\n Alone, these are a bold departure from Meta\u2019s approach to smart glasses. Locally redacting faces and ambient audio, for example, is a conscious choice to give up a valuable source of training data. Google could leave it at that, and Android XR would already have a leg up in the privacy discussion. But Payne says Google plans on using its entire platform to disincentivize glassholes.<\/p>\n For example, YouTube will crack down on any creepy videos featuring harassment or unwanted sexualization, regardless of how they\u2019re captured. Google Shopping and Google Ads won\u2019t allow sales or ads for accessories like lens covers for privacy LED lights. Google Play policies will prohibit third-party apps from enabling social livestreaming, real-time facial identification, or changing anything about how the LED light functions. Payne also says third-party apps requiring camera or mic API access will need further review to prove they\u2019re being used responsibly. This is less of a concern right now, but it\u2019s a future-focused stance for other Android XR devices or even with devices like Xreal\u2019s Aura glasses.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to gauge how effective this privacy policy will be with the public. We\u2019ll have to see how it\u2019s received. It\u2019s much more expansive than Meta\u2019s more reactive approach so far. Granted, Meta doesn\u2019t have its own app store or a computing platform quite like Android. This still underscores how much more Meta could\u2019ve been doing all along.<\/p>\n The one area Meta truly nailed with smart glasses has been style. The company, through its partnership with EssilorLuxottica, has over 100 combinations of frames and lenses. Samsung\u2019s partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster aren\u2019t too shabby to look at. Warby Parker has three designs and three colors: green, brown, and black. Gentle Monster has six frames \u2014 including two that are very Y2K \u2014 with bolder designs, colors, and tinted lens options. The Warby Parker collection starts at $395, while Gentle Monster starts at $449.<\/p>\n Style-wise, I found both collections were fetching. Warby Parker was a bit more everyday, whereas Gentle Monster felt a bit more editorial and runway-ready. Most people should be able to find a look that fits their needs.<\/p>\n The glasses are fairly lightweight (for smart glasses) at 41g. Battery life is estimated at around nine hours, while the cases support up to seven extra charges. Sound quality is pretty good, and the 12MP ultrawide camera takes decent photos and video with image stabilization. So, head tilters rejoice! Your accidental Dutch-angle photos will be straightened.<\/p>\n Where Android XR excels is that Gemini on the glasses is, so far, more capable than Meta AI on the Ray-Bans. I was able to look at an event flyer for a concert in Mumbai, have Gemini add the details to Google Calendar, and then look up flight details to India. It gave me turn-by-turn walking directions while also telling me the event schedule for the Whitney Museum. Beginning a live translation doesn\u2019t require me to download a specific language pair onto my phone like with the Ray-Bans. I was also surprised to see Gemini occasionally correct itself in real-time when it made a mistake, or ask me to get a different view of an object I was trying to identify so it could deliver a more accurate answer.<\/p>\n Low-vision and blind users aren\u2019t left out either. The glasses feature Google\u2019s Guided Vision, which offers conversational audio descriptions of environments and surroundings. Android XR is also collaborating with Aira, which allows users to stream what they\u2019re seeing using the camera to a real-time human interpreter. At launch, this particular feature will be for Android users only, but otherwise the glasses will work regardless of your phone.<\/p>\n Warby Parker\u2019s collection is more everyday chic. Photo by Victoria Song \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Leaving my hands-on, it\u2019s never been clearer that technology isn\u2019t currently the issue with smart glasses. Whether or not this form factor takes off will boil down to culture, privacy, and usefulness. And on that front, this space has been stagnating a bit because Meta has been the sole big player setting the tone and pushing the conversation. The Android XR approach is notably different, and serious competition for Meta is excellent for consumers. All that\u2019s left is to see whose approach wins.<\/p>\n You can preorder Gentle Monster<\/a> and Warby Parker<\/a> smart glasses starting today, and the devices are expected to ship starting December 10th.<\/p>\n Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Victoria SongClose Victoria Song<\/p>\n Senior Reviewer, Wearable Tech<\/p>\n Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All by Victoria Song<\/a><\/p>\n GadgetsClose<\/p>\n Gadgets<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Gadgets<\/a><\/p>\n GoogleClose<\/p>\n Google<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Google<\/a><\/p>\n Hands-onClose<\/p>\n Hands-on<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Hands-on<\/a><\/p>\n ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n TechClose<\/p>\n Tech<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n