Following the shut down of the Google Glass Explorer program and the reorganization of the Google Glass team, some theorized Google Glass may be dead. However Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, says the Google Glass technology is too fundamental for Google to end the project.
“It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google,” Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal. “We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn’t true. Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it.”
He said Glass, like Google’s self-driving car, is a long-term project. “That’s like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now,” he said. “These things take time.”
Google may be trying to take a page out of Apple’s playbook for future versions of Glass. Now Google has put the project under the direction of Ivy Ross, a jewelry designer. Most notably, Tony Fadell, a former Apple executive known as the father of the iPod and the founder of smart-devices maker Nest, is also charged with the device’s future.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Google is working on another version of Glass that will be cheaper and have longer battery life, improved sound quality and a better display. Following the term “Glasshole”, Google is also trying to find a way to remove the social stigma that Glass has brought itself.
Schmidt’s comments indicate Google is committed to Google Glass’ future and wants to make this new type of augmented reality device the future.
What do you want to see in future versions of Google Glass?
Source: Wall Street Journal