RIP (again): Google Glass will no longer be sold

This week, Google announced that it has stopped promoting Google Glass Enterprise Version, marking one other end-of-life for the Glass product that was initially meant to start out an augmented actuality revolution.

First launched to a restricted viewers again in 2013, Glass was presupposed to be a revolutionary new computing platform. The headset supplied customers a head-up show and a built-in digicam, permitting them to see a small quantity of knowledge and seize pictures of their surroundings.

Whereas some tech fanatics took to it, it was additionally extensively mocked for its geeky look, restricted performance, and potential function in violating the privateness of individuals across the person. The criticism was so fierce that the time period “Glasshole” was typically used to explain individuals who wore it.

The preliminary model, which had mainstream client ambitions, was discontinued in 2015. Two years later, Google introduced Google Glass Enterprise Version with a scaled-back ambition of promoting the system for slender makes use of in industries like medication and development. An up to date model referred to as Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 was introduced in 2019, and that is the one which was discontinued this week.

Gross sales ceased on March 15, and help ends on September 15, Google says. No additional software program updates are deliberate, however the end-of-support date is the deadline after which Google will not change broken units. Glass headsets within the wild will nonetheless work after September 15, although, ought to companies plan to proceed utilizing them.

Google hasn’t introduced any plans to re-launch the Google Glass model after this, however the firm is understood to be engaged on different kinds of AR glasses for potential future launch.

Google acquired smart glasses maker North in 2020, and it has since been engaged on an AR wearable internally codenamed Project Iris, which was mentioned in experiences final 12 months to resemble ski goggles.

Rivals Apple and Meta have additionally been engaged on AR glasses with a watch towards a client launch someday sooner or later, however limitations in each optical and battery expertise make it possible that they are nonetheless a methods off from mass-market adoption.

Nonetheless, a number of present and upcoming VR headsets (probably together with the long-rumored, long-delayed Apple headset that supposedly will lastly launch this 12 months) have cameras and passthrough capabilities that may allow some AR-like options.

All that’s to say that augmented actuality remains to be a good distance off from being a ubiquitous client product. However given this second end-of-life for Google Glass and Microsoft’s recent layoffs in its combined actuality division, even enterprise adoption just isn’t shifting at a tempo that some within the business hoped for or predicted—not less than not but.

Itemizing picture by Google