Long, long before Apple unveiled the Apple Vision Pro, Google had its own augment reality (AR) glasses called Google Glass, and while this device never saw the success that Google supposedly hoped for, there are signs that the company is working on preparing another attempt – this time with some help from smartwatches like the Google Pixel Watch 2.
The latest evidence of a new version of Google Glass is a patent – spotted by Wareable and submitted to the USPTO – which shows an AR headset controlled by a smartwatch.
In the patent, this headset can use its camera to determine when a user is looking at the smartwatch screen, and once that is determined, the watch can be used to open apps and navigate the headset’s interface.
Examples of this include making the gesture for a letter on the smartwatch screen, which then initiates a matching-up on the headset. For example, drawing a “U” may launch the Uber app.
If you already have an app open on the headset, interacting with the connected smartwatch may allow you to control a cursor or navigate through menus. So this idea would give you a way to control the headset in ways other than your voice or eye movements, without the need for a separate controller.
Not the only solution
That said, the question arises as to how necessary this would be. After all, the Vision Pro works with hand gestures, without the need for a separate input device. Although using a smartwatch might offer more precision.
There’s also the question of whether you can still use your wearable as a smartwatch while wearing this headset, as the patent suggests the interface will automatically switch to headset control if you look at it with the headset on.
Still, it’s an interesting idea, and a way in which future Pixel Watches – along probably with other Wear OS wearables – could become even more useful than they already are.
That said, many patents never become actual products, so there’s no guarantee that a future Google headset will be controllable in this way. But with Apple’s Vision Pro potentially making these types of devices more popular, there’s a good chance we’ll see a next-generation version of Google Glass (or a successor) soon, regardless of whether it features smartwatch controls.
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