Google Glass became one of Silicon Valley’s most infamous hardware flops because it looked awkward, felt invasive and arrived years before consumers were ready for AI-powered wearable computing.

At Google I/O 2026, Google made the case that the market may finally have caught up.

Fourteen years ago, Sergey Brin parachuted into Google I/O to announce Google Glass. As anyone with a passing knowledge of technology knows by now, there were probably some days in the next few years where Brin wished his parachute had failed, because Google Glass was roundly considered a failure on the commercial level, and the consumer version of the product was sunsetted only a few years later (an enterprise version hung on for several years after). Among other issues, Google Glass was simply not attractive or cool, and people wearing them earned the derisive nickname “glassholes.”

With today’s announcements at Google I/O, the glasshole era officially comes to an end. The announcement about the glasses, dubbed “intelligent eyewear,” led with form; Google announced partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, and the glasses look virtually indistinguishable from glasses someone would wear every day. This will serve Google........

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