Smart glasses is a product category that brands have been pursuing for quite some time, but haven’t quite been able to crack. Google was one of the first with its Glass experiment over a decade ago, and brands like Snap and Meta have also been trying more recently, with the latter delivering a few products through its collaboration with Ray-Ban.

So it begs the question, when will Google throw its hat back in the ring? Well, for years now, Google has been working with Magic Leap on AR technologies. While we hope that this work will eventually lead to some type of product, for now, it looks like Google is content with just being a passenger in this race, building the technology behind AR that makes these types of products possible.

Nothing to see here

We probably won’t get a device directly from Google anytime soon, but the brand has announced its continued partnership with Magic Leap. Magic Leap has been around for years working on AR technologies, and has even done so alongside Google. Magic Leap shared in its press release that the brand is “establishing itself as an AR ecosystem partner to support companies building glasses.”

As such, the company “applies its expertise in display systems, optics, and system integration to advance the next generation of AR.” The two companies did reveal a new prototype pair of AR glasses at an event, showcasing the technologies that the two brands have been working on, like Google’s Raxium microLED light engine.

Sure, this is exciting, but it’s a partnership we’ve known about for years. And it didn’t really dive into the details about the prototype in its own press release. With that said, this doesn’t really come as a surprise, as there isn’t much shown off between the two brands, with both companies keeping things relatively close to the vest on what they’re working on.

However, the brands did share that there is now a new agreement in place, and that it will last for three years. We’re pretty sure we’ll get to hear more about some of the technologies that it’s working on in the future. Of course, things are a little different this time, because Android XR is actually in the wild at this point.

While Samsung’s Galaxy XR was just announced, it’s just the starting point for the platform and its associated technologies. Although the headset is still pretty expensive, it’s still quite a bit less when compared to Apple’s offerings. Things could get interesting very quickly if Google and partners play its cards right.

But this technology is still quite young, and there’s a lot that needs to happen in order to get it all right.