Google Glass is set to disappear (again)

Google will no longer sell its Glass AR smart glasses for enterprise starting on March 15th, and it will only support the device until September 15th this year. The tech giant has posted those details with a notice that says “Thank you for over a decade of innovation and partnership” on the official Glass website, as first reported by 9to5Google. This marks the end for the company’s augmented reality wearable, which had its beginnings as a consumer product that piqued early adopters’ interest but never quite captured the market. 

Around four years after it first became available, Google launched a rebooted version of the Glass for enterprise, targeting businesses whose workers could use augmented reality’s help to accomplish their tasks. It was designed to be more comfortable to wear and with the ability to “withstand the rigors of work environments.” It also had a bigger display, a foldable design and a speedier processor. Then, in 2019, Google released the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 eyewear, which looked mostly the same as its predecessor but came with more powerful hardware and software. 

Google says existing units will continue working after September 15th, but it will no longer roll out any software updates after that. The company will also only replace devices until that date, and the pre-installed Meet on Glass app — Google’s videoconferencing service on the eyewear — might stop working anytime after September 15th, as well. 

Last year, Google started testing its next-gen augmented reality glasses that it teased during its I/O developer conference. It’s not quite clear if those glasses will ever be released, but company spokesperson Patrick Seybold told The Verge that Google remains “deeply committed to AR” and that it’s “been building AR into many [of its] products.”

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