It is stopping the production of its "smart" glasses, as Google , and will experiment with the existing ones.
But it will not stop working on a new future and improved version of Google Glass for consumers, which will be released on the market at some point.
The company's current "Explorer" program, which tested the first Google Glass, will be discontinued, while a separate department will be responsible for designing future versions of the "smart" glasses, according to the BBC and the AFP.
The “Explorer” program was launched in the US in 2013 and allowed software developers to buy the glasses for $1,500, to test them and create new apps specifically for them. The same opportunity was then given to any user who wanted to try the glasses. In fact, for about two years now, Google Glass has been in an unusually long pilot release (beta).
And while everyone expected that the next step would be the widespread release of the glasses on the market, the company unexpectedly announced that it would stop accepting orders for Google Glass starting next week, although it will continue to provide support to other companies that are already using the glasses.
The Glass Team research group under Ivy Ross, which developed Google Glass, will leave the Google X division (which promotes the company's "crazy ideas"), will now become a separate unit and will report to Tony Fandel, the CEO of the automation company Nest, which Google acquired last year.
Although Google stressed that it remains committed to creating new "smart" glasses, it avoided specifying a time frame for their future release.
Google Glass had found an enthusiastic supporter in the person of the company's co-founder Sergey Brin, and had so far created great expectations among the public, as they can display online information on a small screen above the right eye, take photos and videos, etc.
However, as more and more users started using them, many said they were bored or tired of them. Concerns about health, safety, and privacy also arose.
BBC technology analyst Rory Cellan-Jones believes that Google Glass is "dead, at least in its current form" and points out that Google, with its unexpected decision, will find itself facing a large community of users who paid a not inconsiderable amount to buy it. The question also remains what will happen to the cooperation agreements that Google has concluded with well-known eyewear manufacturers such as Ray-Ban, Luxotica, etc.
Market research has shown that a significant number of consumers (43%) would be interested in purchasing smart glasses, so there is a large potential market. Other companies have tried their own versions of smart glasses, but none have been a huge success so far.
Source: ethnos.gr
