I’m looking forward to Android XR glasses, despite my disdain for Gemini

I’m not a big fan of generative AI at all. Aside from this technology driving the enshittification of the web, companies like Samsung also use the tech to hide the fact that their phones have few hardware upgrades. Then there are the environmental concerns and the blatant, almost gleeful copyright violations. So it’s no surprise that I don’t give a crap about Gemini.

Despite my disdain for Google’s chatbot and AI model, I’m still looking forward to Android XR glasses. And it has nothing to do with AI or even augmented reality in the first place — I just want to see what smartphone makers do with the camera experience.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I’m unreasonably excited about the prospect of a camera on my face. This is despite the fact that I thought Google Glass and its camera were corny back in 2015. Meta’s own smart glasses have since shown what’s possible with a camera, but I detest the tech giant, and I think the only bigger privacy nightmare than Google on your face is Meta on your face.

One major reason why I’m keen on a pair of camera-equipped Android XR glasses is that I really like the idea of using them in my line of work. We often film tons of hands-on videos at product briefings and tech expos, so the idea of doing a quick hands-free video is very appealing.

In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I wished I had two hands free to properly show off a phone, tablet, or another product while filming. Smart glasses with a camera would definitely be a welcome approach. Sure, a tripod is an obvious solution, but that takes time and space to set up. And it takes up plenty of space in my luggage.

I don’t see myself using these cameras much outside of work, but I still like the idea of using them for quick landscape snaps, cityscape/sightseeing shots while traveling, and other similar situations.

Perhaps the biggest reason why I’m keen to try camera-equipped Android XR glasses is that I really want to see how major mobile brands bring their smartphone camera technologies and expertise to this more constrained form factor.

We already know Samsung is working on Android XR glasses, and the company could bring some notable smartphone camera features to a future pair of Galaxy Glasses. Features that could work well on smart glasses include Single Take mode and the firm’s custom image filter tech. Samsung phones also offer great video quality, so it stands to reason that Galaxy Glasses could deliver polished videos too.

I’m also really hoping that Google will launch Pixel Glasses and bring some of its Pixel camera tricks to this form factor. After all, the HDR+ tech that underpins Pixel phone cameras in the first place has its roots in the original Google Glass. So it would be great to see Pixel phone features like Super Res Zoom, Action Pan, and more feed back into the smart glasses segment. Google could even resurrect its Photo Booth feature and the automatic capture mode seen on its ill-fated Google Clips camera for smarter, hands-free image capture.

I also really hope other brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, and others join the party and offer camera-equipped Android XR glasses. These manufacturers could lean on features like varied color profiles, smart scene detection (e.g., fireworks, silky water effects), document-scanning functionality, and snapshot modes to stand out. We’ve even seen some Chinese brands offering teleprompter modes on their phones, so this could be a neat addition to Android XR glasses with displays.

Unfortunately, Digitimes recently reported that vivo won’t be entering the smart glasses segment. That’s a shame, as the company’s phones offer great video quality, a variety of color profiles, and polished low-light image quality.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m sure some of Android XR’s AI features will be very useful, such as augmented reality mapping and Gemini Live camera sharing. AI on smart glasses could also be a game-changer for accessibility purposes. But I couldn’t care less about generative AI on my face. And it goes without saying that smart glasses are also a privacy nightmare for non-wearers.

However, I’m still really interested to see whether major smartphone makers can successfully bring their signature photographic looks and core camera experiences to the smart glasses category. These manufacturers all have tons of camera features and modes that they could port to their glasses. So my fingers are crossed that we’ll see some exciting glasses in this regard later this year.