Google I/O 2026 Unveils Project Aura Smart Glasses and Googlebook AI-Native Laptops

Google's annual developer conference, I/O 2026, kicked off on Tuesday at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, with the company delivering its most hardware-focused keynote in recent memory. Building on announcements made during The Android Show: I/O Edition on 12 May, Google used the spotlight to push its Gemini AI deeper into wearable and computing devices through two headline products: Project Aura smart glasses and a new category of AI-native laptops called Googlebook.

Project Aura: Spatial Computing on Your Face

Project Aura, developed in partnership with Xreal, represents Google's most ambitious smart glasses effort since the original Google Glass. The tethered XR glasses run Android XR and feature a 70-degree field-of-view optical see-through display, powered by Xreal's X1S spatial computing chip. The glasses connect to a pocketable compute puck that houses the processing power and battery, keeping the frames lightweight whilst enabling full Android app support, multi-window multitasking, and built-in Gemini capabilities.

The puck doubles as a trackpad for navigation, complementing hand-tracking and gesture input on the glasses themselves. Google confirmed at I/O that Android XR glasses from multiple partners, including Samsung, Xreal, Warby Parker, and Gentle Monster, are slated for release later in 2026.

Googlebook: The AI-First Laptop

Google also used I/O to formally introduce Googlebook, a new premium laptop category that the company describes as the first laptops built from the ground up for Gemini Intelligence. The devices will run an operating system combining the best of Android and ChromeOS, widely referred to as Aluminum OS, marking a long-term transition away from ChromeOS.

A standout feature is the Magic Pointer, an AI-enhanced cursor that provides contextual suggestions as users navigate the screen. Googlebooks will also sync seamlessly with Android phones, allowing users to run mobile apps directly on their laptops. Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are confirmed manufacturing partners, with the first devices expected this autumn. Samsung is notably absent from the initial lineup.

A Platform Play Against Microsoft and Meta

The twin announcements position Google in direct competition with Microsoft on laptops, which has been promoting its own Copilot+ PCs, and with Meta in the wearable AR space. By embedding Gemini across glasses and laptops alike, Google is betting that intelligence, not raw hardware specifications, will define the next generation of personal computing.