Google announces it has stopped selling its Glass Enterprise Edition smart glasses, adding that software support will end on September 15. The move marks the end of one of the earliest smart glass product lines from a major tech company that remains among its most recognized. The company has not revealed the reasons for this decision, but speculation on the subject is widespread, especially the very low demand for gadgets. This is actually the second time the project has failed, having failed once as a consumer product (Google Glass) before becoming a business tool.
Google introduced the first Glass device in 2012 and mainstreamed it, an idea that has led to many predictions such as “the smartphone is doomed.” Google predicted it could sell ten million units of the device, but never managed to reach that number. The $1,500 price tag for the first Google glasses and privacy concerns meant they weren’t adopted by consumers. Google then redirected its efforts by announcing the Glass Enterprise Edition in 2017. A hardware update with Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 followed in 2019.
This version of the hardware costs $999. Based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR1 platform, these new glasses feature a clock speed of 1.7GHz, four cores and eight hours of battery life. They also have a larger screen than their predecessor and are more comfortable to carry, making them ideal for companies looking to use augmented reality, especially as they can withstand the rigors of the work environment. Google pushed the glasses for use in medicine, agriculture, and factories. But the company failed again.
Google announced that sales ended on March 15 and support will only last until September 15, 2023. Although no software updates are planned, the term “support” refers to customers receiving replacement units under existing programs. Thank you for over a decade of innovation and partnership. As of March 15, 2023, we will no longer sell the Glass Enterprise Edition. We will continue to provide support for Glass Enterprise Edition devices through September 15, 2023, according to an update to the Glass Enterprise Edition FAQ released by Google on Wednesday.
According to the company’s announcement, system images of the devices will remain online until at least April 1, 2024. But after that date, Google Glass Enterprise Edition users may be left in the dark. The announcement doesn’t spell out the reasons why Google decided to stop selling Google Glass devices. But analysts suspect the product wasn’t profitable or widespread enough for the advertising and research giant to keep it alive. Google is in the midst of restructuring, implementing a cost-cutting policy and laying off at least 12,000 employees since last year.
Google’s setback comes as competitors, including Meta and Apple, are investing heavily in augmented reality and virtual reality technologies that could lead to far more sophisticated devices than Glass. Meta has released “Ray-Ban” smart glasses with cameras but no screen, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly spoken of a definitive Google Glass-like shape for the line. Apple is reportedly preparing a virtual reality headset that can use video from outward-facing cameras to display the outside world like a transparent lens.
Microsoft has its own enterprise augmented reality glasses, HoloLens, but the company reportedly laid off some of the team that worked on it earlier this year, and the device’s creator, Alex Kipman, left the company in 2022 World Deployment of HoloLens Technology is the US Army’s project to deploy thousands of HoloLens devices to equip their soldiers. However, the project ran into delays and funding was cut by Congress after user acceptance tests failed and soldiers became physically ill while using it.
The army is now looking for a device that will not turn the soldiers’ heads. Even the abandonment of Glass does not mean that Google has abandoned augmented reality or smart glasses. Google Glass will continue to work after September 15 and developers can still create apps for the device. However, Google has clarified that the preinstalled video conferencing application “Meet on Glass”, which launched less than a year ago, could stop working as of September 15th. The Mountain View company assured that the company was still very connected to augmented reality.
Google also said it has integrated augmented reality into a wide range of Google products, adding that it will continue to look for ways to bring new, innovative augmented reality experiences to its product portfolio. Additionally, last summer Google previewed another pair of smart glasses that can translate and transcribe speech in real time. On the Meta side, Zuckerberg recently discussed the mixed reality capabilities of the Meta Quest 3 virtual/augmented reality headset, which is expected to launch in late 2023 and will be priced between $300 and $500.
Source: Google
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See also
Google Glass is available for pre-order for $1,500, and augmented reality glasses will be available to developers in 2013
Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2: The reality headset increases to $999, has a new processor and various improvements
Google Glass: Google publishes the first official recommendations accompanying the wearing of its glasses
Google Glass: GDK development kit in the pipeline, US Congress concerned about privacy