We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there
We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there
我们试用了谷歌的 AI 眼镜，它们离成品仅一步之遥
At the Google I/O developer conference this week, we had the opportunity for a brief hands-on with Google’s upcoming AI-powered glasses — not the audio-only glasses that the company 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.
在本周的 Google I/O 开发者大会上，我们有机会简要体验了谷歌即将推出的 AI 眼镜。这并非该公司宣布将于今年秋季发货的纯音频眼镜，而是提供音视频综合体验的眼镜。这些 Android XR 眼镜最早在去年的活动中发布，其镜片内置显示屏，可以将有用的信息叠加在现实世界中呈现在你眼前。这些信息包括显示天气、步行导航、Uber 接载详情、实时翻译等的小组件，甚至还包括你自己利用 AI 设计的小组件。
The glasses will also pair with 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 were developed in partnership with Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, and Samsung, blending Google’s technology with their brands’ design aesthetics.
谷歌指出，无论是纯音频版本还是未来的显示版本，这些眼镜都将支持与 iOS 和 Android 手机配对。这款带有显示功能的眼镜旨在成为今年晚些时候推出的第一代音频眼镜之后的下一步产品。该眼镜是与 Warby Parker、Gentle Monster 和三星合作开发的，融合了谷歌的技术与这些品牌的设计美学。
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.
与此同时，我们测试的眼镜仍处于原型阶段，尽管其完成度已经足以进行外部测试。负责演示 XR 眼镜的代表解释说，原型机让谷歌不必担心与不同款式和形状相关的外观细节，从而可以更自由地专注于显示技术的实验及其对电池续航的影响。这意味着这些眼镜在佩戴感、形状、尺寸和细节处理上，与未来正式发售的版本有很大不同。它更像是让我们在基础且舒适的镜框中，对眼镜的“内部构造”进行实验。正式发售的版本将能够检测眼镜的佩戴与摘下状态，但我们试用的版本尚不具备此功能。
To activate Gemini, you perform a two-second press on the right side of the glasses’ frame. A startup chime sounds, letting you know that Gemini is on and listening. In the demo version, starting Gemini also starts 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.
要激活 Gemini，你需要长按眼镜右侧镜框两秒钟。启动提示音响起，告知你 Gemini 已开启并处于监听状态。在演示版本中，启动 Gemini 的同时也会启动摄像头，但正式发售版本将允许用户自行配置在启动 Gemini 时是否开启摄像头。
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, tap once on the side of the frame, around the middle, as if tapping on your temple.
在初步测试中，我们通过要求 Gemini 播放喜爱的歌手的音乐来测试眼镜的音频功能。遗憾的是，现场环境过于嘈杂，无法评估音质；即使将音量调至最大，音乐听起来依然不够清晰细腻。但从这次有限的体验来看，这款眼镜并不能很好地替代高质量耳机，不过如果你只是想在户外散步、徒步或在家做家务时听点音乐，它还是够用的。不佩戴耳机的优势在于，与 Apple AirPods 等设备的通透模式相比，你可以更容易听到他人的谈话。要关闭音乐，只需轻敲镜框侧面中部，就像敲击太阳穴一样。
In the second test, we pressed the photo capture button 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.
在第二个测试中，我们按下拍照按钮拍摄了一张人物照片。由于显示屏处于关闭状态，照片被传输到了我们的手机和手表上。（未来你将能够通过长按来拍摄视频，但原型机暂不支持此功能。如果是视频，你将看到视频缩略图预览，而不是照片。）你也可以直接要求 Gemini 拍照，而无需按下拍照按钮，并对结果进行某种 AI 处理。例如，你可以说：“拍一张照片，把照片里的人变成动漫角色。”照片会发送到手机，再传送到 Gemini 和 Nano Banana 服务器，最后返回编辑后的版本。在 Wi-Fi 负载沉重的 Google I/O 现场，整个往返过程大约耗时 45 秒。
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.
开启显示功能后，你的视野中会出现一个简单的主屏幕。演示版本预装了一些显示天气和 Google I/O 活动倒计时的小组件。如果你经常使用 Google 地图或翻译等应用，也可以将它们设置为快速启动项。该原型机仅在右眼上方有一个显示屏，但该平台既支持单显示屏也支持双显示屏，同时也支持纯音频眼镜。图像本身略显模糊，但我们将其归因于我们佩戴的隐形眼镜——一只镜片针对远视优化，另一只针对近视优化。当我们闭上一只眼睛时，图像变得更清晰了，但这种体验几乎立刻让我们感到右眼上方有些眼疲劳，目前尚不清楚这是否完全是处方镜片的问题。
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 showed 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. 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 works. You can start the Google Maps experience by asking Gemini to navigate.
最棒的演示之一是眼镜的语言翻译体验，它由手机上的 Google 翻译应用提供支持。其中一位演示者说了快速的西班牙语，眼镜自动检测到语言并在显示屏上显示英文文本，同时 Gemini 在我们耳边用英语进行翻译。我们认为，仅凭这一体验，全球旅行者就会有购买这款眼镜的冲动。需要说明的是，翻译功能在纯音频眼镜上也能使用，只是不会在眼镜上显示文本。如有需要，除了实时音频反馈外，你还可以在手机上查看转录内容。另一个演示涉及使用眼镜进行导航。虽然我们显然无法离开会场去户外步行以测试其准确性，但我们已经了解了它的工作原理。你可以通过要求 Gemini 进行导航来启动 Google 地图体验。