After a decade of hanging on, Google officially discontinues the last of its Glass headsets
Google recently announced that it will be officially discontinuing its Google Glass Enterprise Edition(opens in new tab) AR headsets. While long out of the consumer market, the widely publicized wearable computer/heads up display was still being offered for potential business customers. «Thank you for over a decade of innovation and partnership,» Google wrote in its announcement. «As of March 15, 2023, we will no longer sell Glass Enterprise Edition. We will continue supporting Glass Enterprise Edition until September 15, 2023.»
If you're at all like me, you saw this news and thought, «Wait, Google Glass wasn't discontinued like, eight years ago?» Turns out it's had this extended second life for industrial and medical settings for some time since.
Back in 2013 Glass was another shiny promise of the Google Future alongside Chrome, Fiber, and its support of Android OS. There was a much-publicized initial rollout of Glass headsets among tech journalists and enthusiast influencers. Glass provided a heads-up display and could also snap pictures, and in some ways prefigures smartphone-adjacent wearables like the Apple Watch or more advanced Fitbits.
It was also peak tech guy, like pre-«oh my god, these guys are rewiring our brain chemistry with pervasive reactive advertising» and more in the midst of «Haha, this Silicon Valley show is pretty funny, I hope they're smarter than this in real life.» This Penny Arcade(opens in new tab) strip from the time really sticks out in my mind, and as Ars Technica(opens in new tab) points out, calling Glass-wearers «Glassholes» really was a thing. Simpler times, and as Google is wont with products like Reader or Stadia, consumer Glass was quietly shuffled off the stage in 2015.
That's where
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