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Google Teases Smart Glasses Prototype That Translates Languages in Real Time

Google
  • Google CEO Sundar Pichai teased a smart glasses prototype the company is working on that can translate languages in real time.
  • During the company's I/O conference, Pichai showed a demo of augmented reality glasses that "take its developments and transcriptions" and deliver them in the user's line of sight.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday teased a pair of smart glasses capable of translating languages in real time.

Pichai showed a video demo of the glasses during Google's I/O developer summit. While they're still just a prototype, Google suggested the glasses can show live language translations to the person wearing them.

So, someone with the augmented reality glasses might be able to understand what another person is saying just by reading captions that are presented through the lenses while the other person speaks.

It's unclear if Google's glasses will ever hit the market, but the prototype provides a sense of where Google thinks augmented reality can be helpful.

The company first ventured into smart glasses roughly a decade ago, but Google Glass was unappealing to most consumers due to a limited launch, high initial pricing and privacy concerns. Google, though, has appeared to keep pushing into the space. In 2020, it acquired North, which was an Amazon-backed company that made smart glasses.

Google also introduced its first smartwatch, the Pixel 6a and Pixel 7 phones and teased a new Android tablet during its event.

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