Google resets ambitions to reclaim lost ground in AR glasses

At its IO developer conference in May, Google made waves with a demo of Project Astra, a real-time AI assistant that can see and understand the world around it. The assistant can understand jokes, read code, and even remember where a user has placed their glasses. At one point, users switched to running Astra on the augmented reality glasses instead of using it via their smartphone.

The show's lead-up sparked speculation that Google was reviving its Iris smart glasses, which Business Insider reported were shelved last year, but the demo was merely a concept meant to whet intrigue about what Google's AI could do with the glasses-like device.

For Google, the AI ​​boom is the perfect time for an AR comeback. Internally, the company is stepping up efforts to move faster and wants to foster partnerships across a range of head-worn devices. At the same time, it faces an uphill battle to convince customers, partners and employees that it's ready for AR.

Google has had some missteps with extended reality (XR), an umbrella term for virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality devices, but it does recognize that these kinds of wearables are a logical home for the AI ​​capabilities it's developing. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has even called glasses the “killer app” for AI.

Internally, the Google team is focused on Android XR, the new software that Google hopes its hardware partners will use to build devices.

Meanwhile, Google and Samsung have teamed up on a headset that will run new Google software, but executives who are concerned the device isn't yet good enough to wow users keep delaying its release until the first quarter of next year, according to people familiar with the timeline.

The tech giants are now setting the stage for an arms race as they build out their AR platforms and court partners. Business Insider spoke to six people who shed light on how Google is retooling on AR and the challenges it faces. The people, whose identities were identified by BI, asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the matter.

Google Senior Vice President Rick Osterloh. Ramin Talaie/Getty

Google combined its devices and Android groups in April and put most of its AR and VR teams under Shahram Izadi, a former director of HoloLens at Microsoft who has worked on AR and XR efforts at Google since 2017.

Google made further changes last month to bring teams in its Devices and Android groups closer together on the organizational chart, including merging the team that has been developing new optical AR technology with the group under Izadi that's working on Android XR, according to two people familiar with the move, which should allow the company to work faster and more efficiently.

Hugo Swart, former head of XR at Qualcomm, joined Google's AR group in April to lead ecosystem strategy and partnerships.

“He's very interested in relationship management and how to partner well,” said a person who previously worked with Swart, highlighting the significance of his move for Google's AR ambitions.

At the same time, Google has been going through a wave of layoffs and leadership changes, including Jeffrey Margolis, Google's chief AR architect who previously worked on Microsoft's HoloLens headset, leaving the company last month to work on future AR glasses at Meta, according to a person with direct knowledge of the changes.

Other Googlers have also left for Meta in recent months, this person said, in part due to frustration with Google's constant pivoting and its decision in January to lay off employees working on augmented reality.

Mark Lukowski, Google's senior director of AR software, left the company in July last year, citing “changes in AR leadership and Google's shaky approach and vision for the product.” Paul Greco, who oversaw the optical technology that Google acquired with startup Raxium in 2022, also left Google for Meta's XR group.

Barry, Betty and Harriet

According to a person who saw a recent demo, Google is making promising progress with its Raxium optical technology, which the company has incorporated into the collection of internally developed software it's using to build and showcase Android XR, each with a name like “Betty,” “Barry” or “Harriet” (within the names are hints at their capabilities; Harriet includes the letter “et” because the prototype has eye-tracking capabilities).

A breakthrough like this could help the company eventually restart first-party products. For now, the company is focused on landing partners like Samsung and Qualcomm to bring Android XR to different types of headsets, from fully immersive to glasses-like devices.

“Google is getting out of the first-party glasses business for the time being,” one current employee said. “We're just building prototypes to get people to use our software.”

Some current and former employees speculate that Google's decision not to make its own hardware products could help convince partners that the company won't play second fiddle to its own glasses products.

“Doing anything first-party has relationship challenges,” said a former Google AR team member. “It puts you in competition with your partners. It's a delicate issue.”

Executives on stage at Samsung Unpacked in 2023. Samsung

Google and Samsung are continuing to work together on a mixed-reality headset similar to Apple's Vision Pro, code-named Moohan internally. Announced in February 2023, the device was originally scheduled to be released in the first quarter of this year but has since been delayed. A consumer version is now expected to be released in March of next year, with a developer version in October of this year, according to a person familiar with the internal timeline.

There is speculation internally that Samsung could be the first to make glasses powered by Google's AR software, according to two employees familiar with the matter.

Google runs prototypes of Moohan and other devices on chips made by Qualcomm, and expects the company to be a key strategic partner as it ramps up its new efforts.

Google expects Qualcomm to fully support Android XR and employees were told the company may move from its Snapdragon Spaces development platform to Google's, according to employees who heard the executives' remarks.

A Qualcomm spokesperson told BI that the company's senior XR lead, Saeed Bakadir, recently said Spaces will be “forward compatible” with Android XR, but declined to comment further on plans.

Google's XR Graveyard

It's been more than a decade since Google Glass was released. The device has sold poorly, become something of a laughing stock for the company, and is seen as a symbol of Silicon Valley arrogance (you can see a pair of Google Glass at the traveling Museum of Failure).

After licking its wounds, Google tried a more immersive virtual reality headset called Daydream, opening up the software for partners to develop for it, but again it didn't resonate with consumers and the effort slowly faded away.

Then the company launched Project Iris, a reboot of Google Glass that looks more like regular glasses and includes features like live translation. Last year, the company froze Iris development because it wasn't convinced the technology was good enough to banish the ghost of Google Glass, causing frustration among Google employees who had watched rivals get further ahead.

While Google continues to zigzag, Apple has forged ahead with Vision Pro and Meta has launched several virtual reality devices and Ray-Ban glasses that record video and play sound.

With no devices of its own and its AR software still in development, Google is now on the back foot. It sells Android XR to partners and hopes that the arrival of AI will allow it to re-enter the market. But its inconsistent approach in the space could make it hard to convince partners to work with Google instead of building their own software products.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin wearing Google Glass. Kim Kulish/Getty Images

Questions remain about whether AR developer software like Android XR makes sense, which one former Googler said “could unify this fragmented landscape and give developers a common platform.”

So far, Apple, Meta and others have opted to build their own operating systems, with Meta saying it plans to partner with companies like Lenovo and Microsoft on its Horizon OS platform.

Google was in talks with Meta to focus all of its efforts on Android XR, but Meta rejected the proposal because it already had its own platform, according to a person familiar with the matter. The backlash highlights how late Google is to the market.

Anshel Saag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said the company's frequent leadership changes and strategy shifts have led it to cede market share to rivals, but that Google could be a “driver” if it can convince partners and OEMs that Android XR is here to stay.

“Google has severed relationships with developers and OEMs multiple times,” Sag said. “Without any assurances that they won't disappear again, I think it will be very difficult for Google to easily re-enter the market.”

Are you a current or former Googler and have something to say? Got a tip? You can contact this reporter securely on Signal at hughlangley.01 or by email at [email protected].

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