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

This week, Google announced that it has stopped selling Google Glass Enterprise Edition. This marks another end of life for the Glass product originally intended to start the augmented reality revolution.

When Glass first launched to a limited audience in 2013, it was supposed to be a revolutionary new computing platform. The headset provided users with a heads-up display and built-in camera, allowing them to see small amounts of information and capture images of their surroundings.

While some tech enthusiasts embraced it, it was widely derided for its geeky look, limited functionality, and potential role in invading the privacy of those around the user. was so violent that the term “glasshole” was sometimes used to describe the people who wore it.

The first version, which had ambitions for mainstream consumers, was discontinued in 2015. Two years later, Google changed its ambitions to market the device for narrower uses in industries such as healthcare and construction. Google announced a scaled-down Google Glass Enterprise Edition.An updated version called Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 was announced in 2019, but it was discontinued this week.

According to Google, sales will end on March 15th and support will end on September 15th. No future software updates are planned, but the end of support date is the time after which Google will no longer replace damaged devices. However, Glass headsets will continue to work after September 15th if businesses plan to continue using them.

Since then, Google has not announced any plans to relaunch the Google Glass brand, but is known to be working on other types of AR glasses for future releases.

Google acquired smartglass maker North in 2020 and has since been working on an AR wearable internally codenamed Project Iris. This was described in last year’s report as similar to ski goggles.

Competitors Apple and Meta are also working on AR glasses for future consumer releases, but limitations in both optical and battery technology mean they may still be a long way from mass-market adoption. .

Nonetheless, some current and upcoming VR headsets (potentially including the long-rumored and long-delayed Apple headset, which is set to finally launch this year) include AR-like It has a camera and pass-through function that enables a variety of functions.

In short, augmented reality is still far from becoming a ubiquitous consumer product. But given this second end of production for Google Glass and recent layoffs at Microsoft’s mixed reality division, even corporate adoption hasn’t gone at the pace some of the industry expected or predicted. At least not yet.

Listing image by Google