Google app shows renewed work on ‘Iris’ smart glasses with Assistant support

Despite reports of the project being canceled, work may have resumed on Google’s “Iris” augmented reality glasses, based on a new teardown.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

In June, it was reported that Google had discontinued work on Iris, its AR glasses project that sought to build on the technology it acquired from North. An early version of the hardware had been showcased at last year’s Google I/O in the form of live translation glasses, while a related effort used newer Pixel phones to enable more complex apps and experiences on the (now also discontinued) Glass Enterprise Edition 2.

While the cancelation was disappointing, the door was left open for work to resume, with multiple Googlers telling Business Insider at the time that work on Iris could still be renewed at a later date. Newer reporting in August suggested that Iris and the idea of AR smart glasses were being pitched to OEMs, including Samsung, for an intended release window sometime in 2025.

Judging from the latest beta update to the Google app on Android, it seems the efforts may indeed have resumed. A new string in the app, explicitly tagged “iris,” explains that, rather than saying “Hey Google,” the best way to invoke the Google Assistant is to long-press on your right temple.

<string name=”assistant_bisto_oobe_iris_finish_setup_description_no_hotword”>Just touch & hold the right temple to talk to your Assistant.</string>

As a side note, the Sony LinkBuds offer a similar gesture of touching your temple to activate the Assistant. We confirmed that this string does not refer to the LinkBuds but to devices that Google has given the “iris_device” attribute. This could point to Iris being a single piece of Made by Google hardware, or Iris could refer to AR glasses in a general sense.

In our previous digging, it seemed that Google’s next AR glasses would take many cues from the Focals by North, likely including the use of ring-worn controls to interact with the software. Here, we see that such a ring would be supplemented by other touch gestures for things like Assistant.

From what we can tell, Iris will have quite a bit of integration with the Google Assistant. Some code points to using the smart glasses for common Assistant actions like calling friends and setting timers.

It remains to be seen whether Google sticks it out this time and releases proper AR smart glasses – either launching its own hardware or partnering with an OEM. Meanwhile, Google and Samsung are still expected in the coming months to unveil their Android-powered answer to XR headsets like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest lineup.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, from which some APK Insight teardowns benefit.

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article.

Header image: Google