I asked a simple question at Google’s Project Aura demo last week. What do you call these things? To my surprise, multiple people launched into a vigorous discussion on the taxonomy of glasses-shaped face computers.
It turns out “smart glasses” is out as a term. The term “AI glasses” is in. Kind of. Actually, it seems no one’s fully on the same page.
Let’s back up, and I’ll explain. At the beginning of the year, a Meta comms representative asked if I could refer to Ray-Ban Meta glasses as “AI glasses.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew Bosworth have referred to the glasses as the perfect vehicle for AI. Framing these devices as AI glasses does two things: first, it tells consumers that these glasses are not like Google Glass; second, it positions artificial intelligence, not augmented reality, as a reason to buy them.
I declined. As journalists, we’re not in the business of advancing marketing narratives, and no one else in the space seemed to be adopting this terminology. Cambridge Dictionary defines the term as “a pair of glasses that contain computer technology” so they can be used similarly to smartphones or convey information about what you’re looking at. That sure sounds like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses to me.
I was surprised during my Project Aura demo to learn that Google is also adopting the term AI glasses… but only for some products. While speaking with Juston Payne, Google’s director of product management for XR, he defined AI glasses as stylish, lightweight glasses that may or may not have a display, with AI integral to the user experience.
Project Aura, he said, doesn’t fall into that category. In fact, Google views it as more aligned with headsets — just in a glasses form factor. The term Google officially settled on in its press release was “wired XR” glasses, since Aura has a wired battery/trackpad puck.
There’s some logic to that. Project Aura is a collaboration with Xreal, which also positions its products into a middle ground between so-called AI glasses and headsets. After my Project Aura demo, I hopped on a call with Xreal CEO Chi Xu and asked what he categorizes Aura as.
Xu simply laughed and said, “We will call all our glasses and previous products AR glasses.”
My mind then flashed back to conversations I’d had while researching who, exactly, is buying VR and XR headsets. I’d spoken to three experts from Gartner, Counterpoint Research, and IDC. None had defined “smart glasses” in the same way. Gartner defined these as camera- and display-free glasses with a Bluetooth connection and AI. Glorified headphones, if you will. Counterpoint noted “smart glasses without see-through displays” are the “primary volume driver in the smart eyewear category.” IDC had a much broader definition that included anything that was glasses-shaped. Then there’s the old connotation that smart glasses must have displays and AR overlays. Think of what Tony Stark wears as Iron Man or what Eggsy has in the Kingsman movies.
Regardless of definitions, one thing is becoming clear: there’s a fundamental shift happening here.
We used to divide this category into virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR has always meant you’re largely cut off from the real world while immersed in a digital environment. AR traditionally meant heads-up displays that overlay digital information over the real world. Somewhere along the way, mixed reality (MR) and extended reality (XR) entered the chat. The former refers to gadgets that blend the virtual and real world, while the latter is an umbrella term for all this tech.
Form factor used to be a reliable indicator of whether a device was VR or AR. VR was the realm of headsets, while AR made the most sense in glasses. Not anymore. The latest headsets are increasingly MR. The problem is there’s no coherent naming strategy. After all, it’s the Samsung Galaxy XR, not the Galaxy MR. Xu might call Project Aura AR glasses, but those also sit firmly in MR territory. You could argue that true AR is currently dead in the water. That’s why we’re in this taxonomical quagmire.
I’m of the opinion that none of these terms is the endgame. Instead, I’m inclined to think companies will start categorizing these gadgets based on when you’ll use them.
There’s a recurring theme: AI glasses are stylish devices you wear all day, even when their batteries die. But while you might wear them 24/7, each interaction is relatively short. Some companies have lofty ambitions of maybe replacing your phone, but for now, are content to be a smartwatch alternative for notification triage.
Conversely, headsets are considered episodic devices. You are not meant to wear them 24/7. They’re tied to specific use cases — entertainment and jobs that require multiple screens. You wear them for an hour or two and then take them off. Technically, you could take them on the go, but by and large, companies don’t envision you doing much more than sitting around in them. Episodic devices are primarily headsets, but as Project Aura shows, they can also be shrunk down into a glasses form factor.
I’m still not sold on the term “AI glasses,” though I’ll acknowledge that “smart glasses” may not be enough on its own anymore. Perhaps in time, we’ll have specific terms that connote whether a pair of smart eyewear has a display, camera, AI, Bluetooth, all of the above, or a combination of the four. In the meantime, I’m asking for a friend — what are we calling this new generation of AI-infused face computers?