The recent news of Google's Project Astra announcement and subsequent partnership with Magic Leap in augmented reality (AR) has sparked speculation about Google's return to the smart glasses market.

Project Astra, unveiled at Google I/O, bears resemblance to Google Glass, the company’s earlier smart glasses project (2012–2015). Both aimed to provide information about the user’s surroundings. Project Astra utilizes an AI assistant that allows users to get information by simply looking at objects.

Following the Project Astra reveal, Google partnered with Magic Leap, a leader in AR optics. While the partnership’s stated goals don’t explicitly mention smart glasses development, it emphasizes a skills exchange: Google’s expertise in platforms and applications for Magic Leap’s hardware prowess. This focus on hardware collaboration fuels speculation about a future smart glasses venture.

Setting the Stage for Advanced AR Glasses

Project Astra and the Magic Leap partnership suggest Google’s potential re-entry into the AR race. These new smart glasses could surpass existing products like Meta Ray-Ban in terms of functionality and AR integration. They could even compete with Meta Quest headsets and Apple Vision Pro.

While the future of a revived Google Glass project remains uncertain, Google’s recent actions undoubtedly indicate a new AR product in development.