구글이 I/O 개발자 컨퍼런스에서 선보인 안드로이드 XR 기반 AI 스마트 글래스의 프로토타입을 직접 체험했습니다. 렌즈 내장 디스플레이를 통해 날씨, 내비게이션, 라이브 번역 등의 위젯을 현실 위에 오버레이하여 보여주며, iOS와 안드로이드 모두와 페어링이 가능합니다. 워비 파커, 젠틀몬스터, 삼성과의 협업으로 디자인된 이 기기는 완벽한 대체재라기보다는 실용적인 일상 동반자로서의 가능성을 보여주었습니다.
번역된 본문
이번 주 구글 I/O 개발자 컨퍼런스에서 우리는 출시 예정인 AI 기반 스마트 글래스를 잠시 직접 사용해 볼 기회를 가졌습니다. 이는 구글이 올가을 출시할 예정인 오디오 전용 글래스가 아니라, 오디오와 비주얼 경험을 결합한 제품입니다. 작년 행사에서 처음 발표된 이 안드로이드 XR 글래스는 렌즈 내장 디스플레이를 통해 유용한 정보를 현실 세계 위에 겹쳐 보여줍니다. 여기에는 날씨, 도보 내비게이션, 우버(Uber) 픽업 정보, 실시간 번역 등을 표시하는 위젯은 물론, 사용자가 AI를 이용해 직접 디자인한 위젯도 포함됩니다. 구글은 오디오 전용 모델과 향후 출시될 디스플레이 탑재 모델 모두 iOS 및 안드로이드 폰과 페어링이 가능하다고 밝혔습니다. 디스플레이가 탑재된 글래스는 올해 하반기 출시되는 1세대 오디오 글래스를 넘어서는 다음 단계를 목표로 하고 있습니다. 이 스마트 글래스는 구글의 기술력과 파트너 브랜드의 디자인 미학을 융합하기 위해 워비 파커(Warby Parker), 젠틀몬스터(Gentle Monster), 삼성과의 협업을 통해 개발되었습니다. 우리가 테스트한 글래스는 여전히 프로토타입 단계였지만, 외부 테스트가 가능할 만큼 완성도는 갖춘 상태였습니다. XR 글래스를 시연한 담당자에 따르면, 이 프로토타입을 통해 구글은 다양한 스타일이나 모양과 관련된 외형적 세부 사항에 신경 쓰지 않고, 대신 디스플레이 기술과 배터리 수명에 미치는 영향 등을 자유롭게 실험하는 데 집중할 수 있었다고 합니다. 즉, 핏이나 모양, 크기, 세부 마감 등의 측면에서 이 프로토타입은 향후 정식 출시될 버전과는 상당히 다릅니다. 오히려 기본적이고 편안한 프레임 안에 글래스의 '내부 기술'을 실험해 볼 수 있는 수준이라고 보는 것이 맞습니다. 정식 출시 버전은 글래스를 머리에 썼는지 벗었는지 자동으로 감지하는 기능을 갖추겠지만, 우리가 시연해 본 제품에는 이 기능이 아직 없었습니다. 젬니(Gemini)를 활성화하려면 안경테 오른쪽을 2초 동안 길게 누르면 됩니다. 시작 알림음이 울리며 젬니가 켜져 음성을 듣고 있다는 것을 알려줍니다. 시연용 버전에서는 젬니를 시작하면 카메라도 동시에 켜졌지만, 정식 출시 버전에서는 젬니가 켜질 때 카메라도 켤지 여부를 사용자가 직접 설정할 수 있습니다. 첫 번째 테스트에서는 젬니에게 좋아하는 아티스트의 음악을 틀어달라고 요청해 글래스를 통해 음악을 재생해 보았습니다. 안타깝게도 행사장 환경이 너무 시끄러워 음질을 제대로 평가하기는 어려웠습니다. 음량을 최대로 높여도 소리를 선명하고 세밀하게 듣기에는 다소 어려움이 있었습니다. 하지만 이 짧은 경험을 통한 첫인상은, 이 글래스가 고급 이어버드를 완벽히 대체할 수는 없겠지만, 야외 산책이나 하이킹, 집안일을 할 때 가볍게 음악을 듣기에는 충분하다는 것이었습니다. 오히려 이어버드를 끼고 있지 않기 때문에 애플 에어팟(AirPods) 같은 기기의 주변 소리 허용 모드를 쓸 때보다 다른 사람의 말투를 훨씬 더 쉽게 들을 수 있다는 장점이 있습니다. 음악을 끄려면 관자놀이를 두드리는 것처럼 안경테의 중간쯤을 한 번 가볍게 톡 치면 됩니다. 두 번째 테스트에서는 손가락으로 사진 촬영 버튼을 눌러 인물 사진을 찍어보았습니다. 디스플레이가 꺼져 있던 상태라 촬영한 사진은 스마트폰과 스마트워치로 전송되었습니다. (향후 길게 눌러 동영상을 촬영하는 기능도 추가될 예정이지만, 이번 프로토타입에서는 테스트해 볼 수 없었습니다. 동영상의 경우 사진 대신 동영상 썸네일 미리보기가 표시될 것입니다.) 또한 버튼을 누르지 않고 젬니에게 사진을 찍어달라고 음성으로 요청한 뒤, 그 결과물에 대해 AI 편집을 수행할 수도 있습니다. 예를 들어, "사진을 찍고 그 사람을 애니메이션 캐릭터로 바꿔줘"라고 명령할 수 있습니다. 촬영된 사진은 스마트폰으로 전송된 뒤 젬니 및 나노 바나나(Nano Banana) 서버로 보내져 편집된 버전으로 다시 돌아옵니다. Wi-Fi에 많은 부하가 걸려 있던 구글 I/O 행사장에서는 이 과정이 왕복 약 45초가 걸렸습니다. 끊어
At Google's I/O developer conference this week, we had the opportunity for a brief hands-on with its upcoming AI-powered glasses — not the audio-only glasses that Google said will begin shipping this fall but rather the glasses that offer a combined audio and visual experience. First announced at last year's event, these Android XR glasses offer an in-lens display that puts helpful information in front of you, overlaid on top of the real world. This includes widgets that could display things like the weather, walking directions, Uber pickup details, live translation, and more — even widgets you designed yourself using AI. The glasses will also pair with both iOS and Android phones, the company noted, both in the audio-only format and in the future display version. The eyewear with the display is meant to be the next step beyond the first generation of audio glasses coming out later this year. The glasses themselves were developed in partnership with Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, and Samsung, blending Google's technology with their brands' design aesthetics. The glasses we tested, meanwhile, were still very much a prototype, although one polished enough to now be tested externally. The reps demoing the XR glasses explained that the prototype allowed Google to not worry about some of the cosmetic details related to different styles and shapes, so it could instead focus on experimenting with the display technology more freely and its impacts on battery life. That means these spectacles are very different from any future shipping version of glasses, in terms of fit, shape, dimensions, and attention to detail. Rather, it's more like being able to experiment with the "insides" of the glasses, while still in a basic, comfortable frame. The shipping version of the glasses will be able to detect when the glasses are placed on your head and taken off, but the ones we tried didn't have this feature. To activate Gemini, you'd perform a two-second press on the right side of the glasses' frame. A startup chime would sound, letting you know that Gemini is on and listening. In the demo version, starting up Gemini would also start up the camera at the same time, but the shipping version will allow the user to configure whether they want to turn on the camera when Gemini starts or not. In an initial test, we played music via the glasses by asking Gemini to play a favorite artist. The venue was too noisy to evaluate the sound quality, unfortunately, as the music was dialed up to the maximum volume and was still relatively hard to hear crisply and in detail. But the initial impression from this limited experience was that the glasses would not be a great substitute for higher-quality earbuds, though they would do if you just wanted some music while you were outside, walking, hiking, or doing chores around the house. The advantage of not having earbuds in is that you can more easily hear someone talking, compared with the transparency mode experiences on devices like Apple's AirPods. To turn the music off, you just tap once on the side of the frame, around the middle, as if tapping on your temple. In the second test, we pressed the photo capture button with our finger to take a photo of a person. The display was off, so the picture was transferred to our phone and watch. (You'll later be able to capture video with a long press, but this option was not available to test with the prototype. In the case of video, you would see a video thumbnail preview instead of a photo.) You can also simply ask Gemini to take a photo without having to press the photo button, and perform some sort of AI manipulation on the result. For instance, you can say something like "take a photo and turn the person into an anime character." The photo is sent to the phone, then to the Gemini and Nano Banana servers, and then returns in its edited version. At the Google I/O venue, where Wi-Fi was under a heavy load, the round-trip took around 45 seconds. With the display enabled, you'll see a simple home screen appear in your field of view. The demo version had some widgets preloaded that showed the weather and a countdown to Google's I/O event. You could also build quick launchers into specific apps, like Google Maps or Translate, if those were among your main use cases for the glasses. The prototype had just one display over the right eye, but the platform can support both single and dual displays, as well as audio-only glasses. The image itself was a little fuzzy, but we chalked this up to our prescription contacts, which involve wearing one lens optimized for distance on one side, and one optimized for near-vision on the other. When we closed one eye, the image came into better focus, but the experience almost immediately left us with some eye strain above the right eye, and it's unclear if the prescription was entirely to blame. One of the best demos was of the language translation experience on the glasses, which is backed by the Google Translate app on the phone. One of the demonstrators spoke rapid Spanish, and the glasses automatically detected the language and displayed the text in English on the display, while Gemini spoke English in our ear. We could see world travelers buying the glasses for this experience alone. We should note that Translate will work on the audio-only glasses, too, just without the text being displayed on the glasses themselves. Instead, you could see the transcription on the phone, if needed, in addition to the real-time audio feedback. Another demo involved using the glasses to navigate. While obviously we couldn't go out on a walk and leave the venue to test its accuracy, we could get an idea of how it would work. You could start the Google Maps experience by asking Gemini to navigate you to a destination — which can even be as vague as something like, "the nearest coffee shop." Gemini will activate Google Maps on the phone, but you don't have to take your phone out of your bag or pocket to use it. After a brief delay while the experience loads, the glasses then display turn-by-turn directions. When you are looking forward, your next turn information is what is displayed. But if you need to get oriented in space, you can look down at the ground and see your blue dot on a map. You can also turn to the left and right to rotate in space, just like you would try to get the blue dot to point the right way on your phone. Then, if you look up again, you can keep walking without the map being in your way. Because the experience is tied to Google Maps on your phone, saved destinations like "home" and "work" will already be available. We were also able to briefly use the glasses to identify a variety of objects in our view and ask questions about them. The glasses initially struggled to identify the replica of a Monet painting on a shelf in front of us, but that's because the prototype didn't automatically enable the camera — it had to be turned on again from the app. Still, it took a couple of questions before Gemini said that it looked like a Monet even after we moved in closer to focus on the Monet signature in the bottom left. Other tests were smoother, as the glasses immediately identified the plant on the shelf and answered questions about different recipes in a book. Still, we thought to ourselves how these were things you could do today with Google Lens (or other AI models integrated in chatbot apps), though we suppose it's interesting to be able to do them without having to pull your phone at all. Google says it will have more to share about its Android XR display glasses later this year, when it expands its trusted tester program. In the meantime, the company believes that audio will suffice for some users' needs, which is perhaps a smart way to spin the fact that it doesn't have its display glasses ready, despite the competition from Meta and Snap on this front. Like the display version, the audio glasses also provide access to Google's Gem