A wake word looks like a small detail. Say a name, then ask. In practice it changes how you talk. Every question turns into a command, every follow up needs the name again, and after a week you are speaking to the thing like a vending machine.
We left the wake word out of Glimpse on purpose. That was one of the first decisions we made, and it shapes almost everything about how it feels to use.
What a wake word does to a conversation
Think about how you ask a friend to read something for you. You hand it over and say what does this say. They read it. You say and the date? They tell you. You say wait, go back, which one is the phone number? Three questions, maybe ten seconds, and nobody said anyone's name.
Put a wake word in front of that and it falls apart. Each question has to be a complete, standalone request, because you never know whether the assistant still remembers what you were talking about. People stop asking follow ups. They ask one carefully phrased question, get one answer, and give up on the second one because it feels like starting over.
The follow up is usually the question you actually cared about. The first one just gets you there.
How Glimpse works instead
You start a session once. On the iPhone that is the Start AI Mode button. On Glimpse Glasses it is the touch control on the temple. From then on you just talk.
- Follow ups carry over. Ask what a letter says, then ask about the deadline, then ask who to call. It knows what you are both looking at.
- You can interrupt. If the answer is going somewhere you do not need, start talking and it stops to listen.
- You can change the subject. Go from the letter to the weather to the thing on the stove without resetting anything.
- It answers in your language. Ask in Japanese and you hear Japanese. Ask in English and you hear English.
When you are done, you end the session the same way you started it.
Why this matters more with your hands full
A wake word is a workaround for a device that is always listening and has no idea when you mean it. That makes sense for a speaker sitting in a living room all day. It makes less sense for something you pick up for a specific job.
When you use Glimpse, you already know you want help. You are standing at the ticket machine, or reading a form, or holding two jars that look the same. Saying a name before every sentence adds nothing at that point except one more thing to remember while your hands and attention are busy.
The honest trade
No wake word means that while a session is open, Glimpse is listening to everything you say. That is how it can hear a follow up without being called by name.
So here is exactly what happens. Glimpse does not listen until you start a session. During a session, your voice and what the camera sees are sent to Google Gemini to be understood and answered, and the things you have asked it to remember are sent at the start so it can use them. When you end the session, that stops. The full details are on the privacy page, and they are worth reading once.
There is a practical side too. Your daily time counts while a session is open, whether you are talking or not. The free plan includes 5 minutes a day and Glimpse Pro includes 40. Start a session when you need it and end it when you are done, the way you would hang up a phone call.
A habit that works
Treat each session like asking someone to come over and look at something. Start it, ask everything you need about that one thing, end it. Short sessions keep your minutes for the moments that matter, and they mean you always know when it is listening.
No camera needed for some of it
Not every question needs eyes. Audio mode lets you put earphones in, leave the phone in your pocket and think out loud. It works the same way: start once, then talk, follow up and interrupt as much as you like.
Try one real conversation
Pick something with more than one question in it. A letter from the city office, a box of medicine you have not seen before, the settings screen on a new appliance. Start a session, ask the first question, and then keep going without saying anything special. That second and third question is where you will feel the difference.
Common questions
Is Glimpse listening all the time?
No. It only listens during a session you started, and it stops when you end the session. During a session your voice and camera view are sent to Google Gemini so it can answer.
How do I start talking to it?
On the iPhone, tap Start AI Mode. On Glimpse Glasses, use the touch control on the temple. Then just speak. There is no name to say first.
Do minutes count when I am not talking?
Yes. Daily time counts while a session is open. Free includes 5 minutes a day and Pro includes 40, so end the session when you are finished.