Google cancelled the public Explorer program for Google Glass earlier this month, but outside of saying the device had moved from the experimental Google X Labs to the consumer product division, nothing much was said about it. During a financial earnings call, Google’s CFO Patrick Pichette was slightly more open about Google’s motives for closing down Glass, but didn’t instill anyone with much hope a sequel is coming anytime soon.
Pichette is quoted as saying, “When teams aren’t able to hit hurdles, but we think there’s still a lot of promise, we might ask them to take a pause and take the time to reset their strategy, as we recently did in the case of Glass. And in those cases where a project doesn’t have the impact we hoped for, we do take the tough calls.”
Talk of pauses, and time to rethink strategies suggest Google doesn’t have a fixed plan of where Glass is going next. If anywhere at all. Just before the end of 2014, rumors spread of Intel’s involvement with Google Glass 2, and patents even sprung up showing a possible design. While these can be taken as an indication a sequel is in the works, the Google executive’s words calms any hopes a release is imminent.
The statement Glass lacked impact is also interesting, because for all its faults, Glass managed to take the tech world by storm. Although the average person on the street is still relatively unaware of the device, the tech-informed know of it and likely have their own – probably strong – opinion about it too.
Just as those who didn’t splash out for the Explorer edition of Glass waited patiently for a wider, cheaper mainstream launch, it looks like we’re also in for an equally long and secrecy shrouded wait for Glass 2.
