After years of anticipation, Google's AI glasses are finally here, and the question everyone is asking is how they measure up.

On Thursday, pre-orders opened for the new Intelligent Eyewear collections, a collaboration brought to life by Google, Samsung, Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker. The glasses let users capture video and photos with the 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, listen to audio with the open-ear speakers, and notably, utilize Gemini assistance with a simple tap of the frame.

A key theme of the release is accommodating user choice, with the glasses working across Pixel, Samsung, and iOS phones with a nearly identical experience on each. Gentle Monster's six designs are a bit bolder for those willing to take more of a risk with their style, starting at $449. Warby Parker offers three styles, which it says were all inspired by its most beloved silhouettes and starts at a slightly more affordable price of $395.

Regardless of designer or style, the glasses felt very light at only 41 grams — about 10 grams less than the lightest Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3. The glasses are also meant to offer users 9 hours of battery life, which is on par with Meta's most competitive offering.

Pre-launch, I had the opportunity to wear them at three different events, totaling about three hours of use, and got to talk to the people who worked to bring these models to life. In my testing, I found two major standouts: Gemini and privacy.

My most practical use case for my Meta Ray-Bans has typically been the audio experience, as the mics and speakers are excellent for hands-free calls or music and podcast streaming. I was pleased that the Intelligent Eyewear's audio was just as compelling, with the addition of more useful AI through Gemini, so much so that I can see myself using the AI features as much as I use the audio features.

Gemini seamlessly connects to popular Google apps, such as Gmail or Maps. I trust it with access to my information, which gives it the context it needs to be truly helpful. While I could do the same with Meta AI, connecting it to all my apps is a more manual, tedious process.

Additionally, I don't trust Meta with all my personal data given its history, which brings me to my next point: Google has been particularly careful with this release to address all privacy concerns users would have, taking a number of precautions to make users more comfortable, such as:

• The LED recording indicator light can't be tampered with
• Camera visuals aren't saved in your Gemini History or used for AI training or ad targeting
• The data stored on the glasses is encrypted
• The glasses redact faces before sending images to Gemini
• Gemini is designed to focus on the user's voice, not picking up conversations around you in which the individuals wouldn't be consenting to being recorded

Given the negative public perception of AI glasses as a result of Meta's devices, Google's strict stance is crucial for it to have any chance at success. It also may be enough to remedy some of the bad PR that smart glasses currently have, paving the way for more trust in the product category. 

“Our strategy here is that we’re coming in at a time where the history has not been written yet on this category, and we want to raise the bar on privacy," Juston Payne, senior director of product management for XR at Google, told me.

Our Deeper View

I’ve always felt the AI glasses category has struggled because, in my experience, its best use case has been audio. Yet, the real promise of AI glasses is giving an assistant context for what you’re seeing and doing, so it can help you from your point of view. After my brief time with these glasses, I think Gemini may be what finally cracks that code. I could see myself reaching for it instead of my phone in many situations. For instance, I could ask how far away my next meeting is and whether it would be faster to take the train, drive, or walk, saving time that I would have otherwise spent jumping between apps because I'm comfortable giving Gemini access to the context of my Google Calendar and Maps. While I wish the hardware design had taken a bigger leap to set it apart from competitors, Gemini makes enough of a difference to give these glasses a real competitive edge.