Google Glass

Google steps into “extended reality” once again with Android XR

android, android xr, Apple, extended reality, Google, Google Glass, Tech, vr, XR / Mike M. / December 12, 2024

Citing “years of investment in AI, AR, and VR,” Google is stepping into the augmented reality market once more with Android XR. It’s an operating system that Google says will power future headsets and glasses that “transform how you watch, work, and explore.”

The first version you’ll see is Project Moohan, a mixed-reality headset built by Samsung. It will be available for purchase next year, and not much more is known about it. Developers have access to the new XR version of Android now.

“We’ve been in this space since Google Glass, and we have not stopped,” said Juston Payne, director of product at Google for XR in Android XR’s launch video. Citing established projects like Google Lens, Live View for Maps, instant camera translation, and, of course, Google’s general-purpose Gemini AI, XR promises to offer such overlays in both dedicated headsets and casual glasses.

Android XR announcement video.

There are few additional details right now beyond a headset rendering, examples in Google’s video labeled as “visualization for concept purposes.” Google’s list of things that will likely be on board includes Gemini, Maps, Photos, Translate, Chrome, Circle to Search, and Messages. And existing Android apps, or at least those updated to do so, should make the jump, too.

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Google Discontinues Glass Enterprise Edition Smartglasses

Google, google ar, Google Glass, google glass enterprise, google glasses, google smartglasses, News, smart glasses, smartglasses / Mike M. / March 16, 2023

Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, the company’s work-focused version of its iconic but once maligned smartglasses, is being discontinued.

Google says in a device support FAQ that, starting March 15th, it will no longer sell Glass Enterprise 2, adding that it will only support the device until September 15th, 2023.

While the company says it’s not pushing out any more software for Glass Enterprise Edition after that date, however its most recent system images will remain publicly available until at least April 1st, 2024.

Launched in 2017, Google Glass for enterprise was a revival of sorts, as the company had ceased production of the storied device in 2015.

Google Glass Explorer Edition | Image courtesy Alphabet

Starting in 2012, the company was hoping to seed the device among prosumers with its Glass Explorer Editions, although public backlash spawned the term “glasshole,” putting a severe dent in Google’s ambitions to launch a more consumer-focused version of the device.

Google hasn’t explained why it’s killing off Glass for enterprise. In response to PC Mag, a Google spokesperson left this comment:

“For years, we’ve been building AR into many Google products and we’ll continue to look at ways to bring new, innovative AR experiences across our product portfolio.”

To be fair, Google probably has bigger fish to fry, and the aging smartglasses platform may well be replaced sooner rather than later. Google said last summer it would be conducting real world tests of its early AR prototypes, emphasizing things like real-time translation and AR turn-by-turn navigation.

There’s also the issue of emerging competition. Apple’s upcoming mixed reality (MR) headset is rumored to arrive sometime in mid-2023, while Meta is prepping multiple generations of its MR Quest headsets.

Granted, these MR headsets probably won’t be the model workhorses, although many companies see MR headsets as a steppingstone in preparation for the sort of all-day AR glasses industry is hoping to commercialize in the near future.

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To be clear, Google Glass is a style of smartglass(es) and not an AR device as such; Glass provides a single heads-up display (HUD) that doesn’t place digital imagery naturally in the user’s perceived environment, like with HoloLens 2 or Magic Leap 2, but rather flatly projects the sort of useful information you might also see on a smartwatch. You can learn more about the differences between AR headsets and smartglasses here.

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