What you need to know
- A tipster discovered signs in Android Auto's code that seemingly points toward smart glasses integration.
- Strings of code mention a "Glasses" option and the ability for users to "start navigation" with their glasses.
- This discovery surfaces a day after Google's TED 2025 demo, where it showcased its Android XR glasses "memory" capabilities.
A recent code discovery purports a truly interesting feature in development for Google's driving ecosystem.
Development for a curious new integration in Android Auto was spotted in an APK dive by AssembleDebug and Android Authority. Alongside the tipster, the publication discovered two new strings in Android Auto's recent version that both contain a "GLASSES" modifier. The first string is simply the option itself, which is for a "Glasses Option."
While nothing concrete surfaced, this code only adds an option for this new feature, likely within its settings/features list.
The second string is more interesting as Google's early added code reads, "Start navigation to launch Glasses." By the code's name, it seems Google is working on integrating Android Auto's console information with a user's connected pair of smart glasses for AR assistance. Speculation leans this way, too; however, how these alerts or bits of navigational information could appear is unknown.
This code was noticed in v14.2.151544 of Android Auto, and since things are still barebones, we're likely still far from knowing more.
Google's Future of Android XR Glasses
The timing of this discovery only pushes us in one direction: Google's recent TED 2025 demo of its Android XR glasses. The highlight of the demo was the glasses' "memory" ability. The demoer, product manager Nishtha Bhatia, asked Gemini where she'd left her hotel room key. Since she was wearing her XR glasses — and Gemini was being attentive — the AI was able to respond with, "The hotel key card is to the left of the music record."
Bhatia was able to relocate her key card on the shelf behind her, where the music record was.
Elswhere, Google stated, "These glasses work with your phone, streaming back and forth, allowing the glasses to be very lightweight and access all of your phone apps." With that in mind, there's a chance Android Auto could bring similar possibilities to Google's XR glasses.
If we're keeping things lightweight, the "Glasses" option would simply retrieve the information from your car's onboard software instead of trying to load up maps in its frame. Google's TED 2025 demo also showed a pair of glasses that only feature a screen in one lens. The company previously showed off glasses with one display and another with two screens in 2023, so it seems there are plans for multiple options.
