Google Translate is prepping support for future XR smart glasses (www.techradar.com)

Hidden code in the latest Google Translate for Android reveals a new "Glasses" output option—alongside headphones and the phone speaker—indicating the app will be able to stream spoken, real‑time translations directly into future XR smart glasses. The toggle is tied to Translate’s Live Translation feature (rolling out since August), and although not yet enabled, it suggests users could hold cross‑language conversations and hear translated speech piped into smart specs without needing earbuds. Android Authority also found related UI hints for per‑language pause controls and background playback, pointing to a polished playback pipeline when the feature ships. This matters because major vendors (Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset, Samsung/Google smart glasses and Google’s Magic Leap partnership) are preparing new XR hardware, and built‑in Translate support could be a killer app that accelerates consumer adoption. Similar functionality exists in earbuds and some Meta/third‑party glasses, but Translate’s scale and cloud/edge models could improve accuracy and latency. Technical implications include audio routing and low‑latency speech inference (likely a mix of on‑device and cloud processing), power/UX tradeoffs for always‑on translation, and tighter platform integration with Android audio targets. For developers and researchers, it signals growing demand for real‑time multimodal translation workflows optimized for wearable XR form factors.