Exciting new software wants to be the Android of smartglasses

By Andy Boxall Published February 4, 2025

An operating system that wants to be the Android of smart glasses, called AugmentOS, has been announced. It’s the work of a company called Mentra, a small software company established in 2024, and a far more well-known name — Vuzix. This isn’t software waiting for a platform either, as the announcement also includes new and existing pairs of smartglasses which run AugmentOS.

The software is described as being a, “universal operating system designed for smart glasses,” and it includes an impressive array of standard apps and features, along with support for displays on smart glasses, an app store, and some key benefits for developers. Naturally, because it’s 2025, the features are “powered by AI,” and we should expect smart notifications, language translation, real-world captions, and an AI assistant.

In a video discussing the launch, the Mentra team show how these features look on a display inside a pair of smart glasses, where they overlay the real world. There are currently three pairs of smart glasses that support AugmentOS — the Even Realities G1, the Vuzix Z100, and the Mentra-designed Mentra Mach1. These cost $349 and have a monochrome green waveguide microLED screen in the right lens. The Vuzix Z100 have a very similar look and technology, so they may be the same product with a different name, and cost $500. The Even Realities G1 are the most expensive way to try AugmentOS at $599.

On the development side, a single app can be built which then works across all hardware, speeding up the process to get apps in the hands (or on the faces) of users. Mentra CEO Cayden Pierce explained more about the company’s vision (if you’ll forgive the pun):

“This is the moment where AI steps out of our phones and into our world. By partnering with an industry leader like Vuzix, we’re creating a platform where AI can finally see what we see and understand our context in real time. For the first time, multiple AI assistants can work together seamlessly to enhance our daily lives. What excites me most about AugmentOS is how it brings AI-powered smart glasses to life today. Users get an incredible set of tools out of the box, while developers gain a frictionless way to build next-generation AI applications.”

It’s exciting we can try AugmentOS today, and if you already own a pair of compatible smart glasses, you can download and install the operating system yourself. The Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, probably the best known current model, are unfortunately not on the list of compatible models at this time.