Technologies
Google and Qualcomm Tell Me That Gemini Will Be Project Moohan’s Secret Weapon
How much closer are we to smart glasses rivaling Meta’s Ray-Bans?
While Meta’s Quest line of headsets has dominated the virtual reality space, mixed reality — using digital displays overlaying the real world — is a new frontier that’s just starting to be explored, going beyond the new Meta Ray-Ban Gen 2 to devices more akin to the Ray-Ban Display glasses. That’s where Google’s Project Moohan MR display aims to make headway. Unlike its prior efforts in the space, like Google Glass, the company hopes to gain an edge by partnering with Qualcomm and Samsung to bolster its chances.
At the Snapdragon Summit 2025 in Maui, I sat down to chat with Sameer Samat, Google’s head of Android, and Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm group general manager of mobile, compute and XR, to check in on Project Moohan and how the broadening of Android and Gemini coalesces with their collaboratively built headset. Which, despite CNET Editor at Large Scott Stein getting hands-on time with an early version of it last December, is still in development.
«We’re super excited about the device coming along really nicely,» Samat said. «We’re definitely getting closer.»
It was clear to Snapdragon Summit attendees that Project Moohan is still in development. The headset was quietly tucked into an easily missed corner of the event, shown off for only a couple of hours under glass and out of anyone’s hands. But Samat was bullish about the progress made in the last year, which has «subtle but very important refinements to the hardware,» he said.
Read more: You Got Your Phone OS in My Laptop! Here’s How Android and ChromeOS Will Merge
Design-wise, Samat explicitly pointed to improvements in the weight balance, ensuring the ergonomics are correct and that the light ingress is where it should be. Where the weight is balanced is crucial in the design of smart glasses that are expected to be worn for hours at a time. When the Apple Vision Pro launched in early 2024, CNET’s Stein noted that the headset felt top-heavy after only half an hour when using the standard single strap. However, using the dual strap was more comfortable, but, in his words, «Looks like the headband on my CPAP machine.» In summary: «A bunch of changes there that I don’t think you see when you look at it, but when you put it on from before and after, I think people would very much notice,» he said.
«I saw early prototypes until now, big difference,» added Katouzian. «I think the weight and the balance is really good and mechanically very well designed.»
Project Moohan uses Qualcomm’s XR2 mixed reality chip. The company worked with Google and Samsung to optimize everything, Katouzian said.
The software has come a long way, Samat continued, and he was quick to affirm that there’s been a lot of refinement in incorporating Gemini into the headset. That loops Project Moohan into the drum Qualcomm and Google were beating throughout Snapdragon Summit 2025: the Gemini experience that uses multiple large language models to answer queries will be an increasingly significant part of using devices, from phones to laptops to headsets, going forward.
«What would happen if, in the user experience, your AI assistant can see and hear what you’re hearing … if they could see the same virtual world as you at the same time, and you could ask them to walk through and explore that world with you?» Samat said. «I’m playing around a lot with that. Even to explore places, like you go somewhere in [Google] Maps and then you walk around and ask questions of Gemini and just explore an entire city with it.»
Bringing contextual information to the screen while going about your day was the dream of older experiments, such as the Google Glass mixed reality glasses released in 2013 and the 2016 Google Daydream, which turned your phone into an augmented reality headset. Samat obliquely referenced these, saying the company has «had our fair share of innovation and being first, but also some things that could have worked better.»
But Samat also pointed to what’s changed in the interim — one of which is computational power from chips like the Qualcomm XR2 that powers Project Moohan. This silicon «opens up another level of fidelity,» he said, pointing to other technical advancements, like optics in the hardware for eye tracking. And AI in general has improved too, with non-Gemini applications that can, for instance, augment Google Photos with uniquely enabled AI experiences in the XR world — experiences that «you’ll see soon enough,» Samat teased.
The companies believe combining Google’s software, Qualcomm’s silicon computational horsepower and Samsung’s ergonomic product design will create something special that fits the mixed reality format better than anything we’ve seen before.
In addition to Project Moohan, Google is exploring a whole range of ideas, including smart glasses. At some point, they’ll take what was developed for its mixed reality headset and shrink it down to something that would more directly compete with Meta’s Ray-Ban Display and others like it. And with Samsung in the mix, there’s a lot of potential.
«The close proximity between the glasses and the phone will bring an advantage that hasn’t been in the market before,» Katouzian said.
Read more: Smart Glasses Are Going to Work This Time, Google’s Android President Tells CNET
If and when a smart glasses collaboration happens, Google has another advantage that might be more appealing than Gemini integration: individual style. Not everyone wants smart glasses from Ray-Ban or Oakley. Google has previously announced that it’s working with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to presumably put a Project Moohan successor in a variety of frames, which could entice consumers who aren’t fans of wrap-around sports shades.
«The aesthetic of it is super important,» Samat said. «Yes, of course, it’s a piece of technology, but it also has to be something you want to wear.»
Technologies
The Clicks Communicator Will Have Keyboard Layouts in Arabic, French, German, Korean
After debuting it at CES, Clicks is expanding the BlackBerry-like Communicator phone with localized options ahead of MWC 2026.
The Clicks Communicator created a buzz after its CES reveal, with its focus on offering a communications-forward Android phone that looks like a BlackBerry, complete with a physical keyboard, prioritizing messaging and typing over everything else. It turns out the keyboard phone may have made a bigger splash than anyone realized. Clicks will offer multiple versions of the Communicator, each with a keyboard that supports a different language, in response to the overwhelming demand for the unreleased phone.
The company is expanding the Communicator to include models with keyboard layouts for Arabic, French (AZERTY), German (QWERTZ) and Korean. Clicks said interest in the Communicator was higher than the company expected, especially globally.
It’s clear there are still plenty of people who yearn for compelling, straightforward devices with smartly designed hardware that aim to make texting and writing easier. The timing of Click’s news strikes a stark juxtaposition, coming just days after Samsung launched its Galaxy S26 series, which features updates heavily steeped in AI.
«The response from customers around the world sends a strong signal that Communicator fills a gap for a phone purpose-built for communicating and taking action,» Clicks CEO Adrian Li Mow Ching said in a press release.
But there’s more good news ahead of MWC if you’re interested in getting a Clicks Communicator. The early-bird window to reserve one now runs through March 15. The phone costs $499, but an early reservation gets you a $100 discount and, when paid in full, a bundle of the phone and two additional back covers.
Clicks also shared that the phone will have a Dimensity 8300 chip (MT8883), which is in phones like the Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro. The MT8883 lets the company offer OS updates to the Communicator through Android 20 and five years of security updates.
I’m definitely excited to see where Clicks is headed with the Communicator, but should note that we’ve yet to see a working version of the phone. The Clicks Communicator will be available in Smoke, Clover and Onyx. Reservations are open, and people can select their preferred keyboard layout closer to when the phone ships later this year.
Technologies
I Tested the New Circle to Search on the Galaxy S26 and It Nailed My Outfit
Samsung’s AI-powered visual search tool on its new phones is now dangerously good at helping me shop. RIP my bank account.
As a fashion lover who’s always hunting for outfit inspo, I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit trying to track down the exact pieces from a TV scene or red carpet look. So when Samsung unveiled an upgraded version of Circle to Search at its Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco that can identify multiple items from a single image, I made a beeline for the Galaxy S26 demo area to try it myself.
Circle to Search, which first appeared on the Galaxy S24 phones and then expanded to other devices as Google Lens, felt like magic: Circle anything on your screen and get instant results. The AI-powered visual search tool can identify objects, translate text and surface contextual results without ever leaving the app you’re on.
Now it’s gotten even smarter, and broader: Google says it’s now also on Pixel 10 devices.
Instead of just identifying a single item, it can recognize and surface information about multiple things you’ve presented it with, including an entire outfit. The feature can be used for just about everything, from identifying bird species to translating text, but Samsung says fashion and shopping are hands-down the most popular use case.
So of course I had to put it to the test by having it scan my outfit — and I was genuinely floored. In the crowded event space under harsh lighting, I was skeptical it could deliver. It did.
First, it pulled up an AI summary describing the scene: «The look features a vibrant blue structured blazer, white top, dark fitted leggings and classic black leather boots.» Right below that, I pressed the «Find the look» button and watched it do its magic.
Within seconds, I was staring at the exact same in-your-face cerulean blazer I was wearing, with a link to the online store I’d bought it from, along with a slew of strikingly similar shopping options ranging from upscale alternatives to budget-friendly picks. This level of stalking would’ve taken me at least 20 minutes to lock down.
Scrolling down revealed the same for my glossy black leggings. Despite being from many seasons ago and not available anymore, it returned convincing dupes from different retailers. It did the same for my decade-old knee-high boots and even pulled up a used pair from Postmark; a nod at the fact that mine are old AF. The only thing it failed to surface was the shirt I was wearing under the blazer that was clearly visible in the shot. Maybe layers is the next frontier for Circle to Search.
Surprisingly, the hardest part of the process was figuring out how to use the feature. I had to ask a Samsung employee to take a full-body picture of me. Once I had it on the screen, I long-pressed on the home button at the bottom of the screen, which triggered a Google overlay. I then had to circle myself from head to toe. It’s the kind of feature I’d program on an action button if I could — although my wallet would likely suffer the consequences.
In doing this, Samsung and Google have virtually removed the friction between liking someone’s outfit, and pressing the trigger on buying it. It wasn’t that long ago that the closest alternative involved screenshotting a look, posting it to Pinterest and attempting to track down similar pieces. This is faster, cleaner and almost dangerously good for fashion lovers like me.
If this gets any better, Samsung may need to add a few guardrails for those of us prone to a little too much impulse shopping.
Technologies
A New Mini Game Boy Collectible That Just Plays Pokemon Music? What a Tease
A surprise collectible on Pokemon Day looks just like a tiny Game Boy and plays music on swappable cartridges. Give us the real Game Boy again, come on.
Nintendo sure does love teasing us with Game Boy things. First, a collectible Lego Game Boy model last year that almost looked like a real Game Boy (but wasn’t). Now, for the 30th anniversary of Pokemon, Nintendo and the Pokemon Group are selling a collectible music player that looks like a tiny Game Boy and plays authentic original Pokemon Red/Blue songs on swappable cartridges, one per song. The Game Boy Jukebox is being sold on the Pokemon Center site later today, for a price that hasn’t yet been listed.
This level of absurdity is standard issue for Nintendo: Just in the last 18 months we’ve had Alarmo, a talking Super Mario flower and a Virtual Boy recreation. This new collectible is so tempting precisely because it looks like a little, even more pocketable Game Boy. Except it isn’t a Game Boy at all. It’s just a music player. Even the dot-matrix «screen» is fake — it’s just an overlay that the cartridges display when they’re slotted in.
The music this thing plays is Game Boy-accurate, down to the little boot-up ping. It just makes my skin itch for a new Game Boy (that isn’t one already made by several other companies).
But come on. Make a real Game Boy collectible, with actual preloaded games on it. You know you want to, Nintendo. It’s only a matter of time.
In the meantime, if you’re desperate for all 45 Pokemon Red and Blue songs on a little Game Boy music player, now’s your chance.
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