Google's eyewear partners can't keep a lid on its smart glasses plans

Gentle Monster has announced its version of Google's Android XR smart glasses will launch in December, and its website says pre-orders open on November 12, the same date Warby Parker appeared to accidentally share on Thursday. Both eyewear brands, along with Samsung, are Google's partners on the project, which is set up to be both a competitor to Meta's smart glasses and a revival (of a sort) of Google Glass. Google itself has yet to confirm either date.

The Korean brand paired its announcement with a teaser of a short film directed by Jonathan Glazer, best known for Under the Skin and The Zone of Interest, and starring Joaquin Phoenix, who famously played a man who falls in love with an AI in Her. Gentle Monster says a full version of the short will be available in mid-November. The teaser suggests it'll skew much more toward experimental film than a straightforward commercial.

Google's Android XR platform is designed to power everything from the mixed reality experience on the Samsung Galaxy XR to the augmented reality one offered on the Xreal Aura. Gentle Monster and Warby Parker's glasses will provide a display-free, audio-first version of the operating system, but should offer similar access to Gemini.

It's not clear how this "Intelligent Eyewear," as Google and its partners call it, will go over, but Google seems to be hoping Meta's strategy of packaging tech in a desirable brand will help counter any backlash. With both Warby Parker and Gentle Monster's launches on the calendar, we won't have long to wait to see if it works.