RIP Google Glass Enterprise As Sales for Smart Glasses End

Remember Google Glass? It looks like the smart glasses line is finally dying out. 

On Wednesday, Google announced its discontinuing the enterprise edition of the product, which had been retailing for $999. 

The company has updated(Opens in a new window) the Glass Enterprise website to say the product sales have ended. In addition, Google will eventually halt customer support and software updates for the smart glasses later on Sept. 15th, according to an FAQ article(Opens in a new window). 

Over a decade ago, Google Glass was all the rage when it first emerged as a company prototype. The smart glasses were designed to let you pull up information and access the internet through a single lens. However, the actual device suffered from a myriad of issues including short battery life, concerns about privacy, and a high price at $1,500.

Google then decided to pivot away from a consumer version of Google Glass to focus on bringing the technology to the enterprise space. The result was the Glass Enterprise edition, which the company marketed as a hand-free computer that workers could wear while on the job. 

(Google)

In 2019, Google even refreshed the product with Glass Enterprise Edition 2.0, which offered a more powerful processor, a better camera, and longer battery life. However, Wednesday’s announcement signals the product was struggling to attract enough interest from enterprise customers.  Back in January, Google’s parent Alphabet also decided to cut 12,000 jobs. 

Despite the discontinuation of Glass Enterprise, Google told PCMag it still remains “deeply committed” to augmented reality products. “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,” the company said in a statement. 

Indeed, last year, Google showed off a pair of smart glasses that can translate foreign languages in real-time by displaying the corresponding text over the lenses. The company has since been testing the product in public. So it’s possible Google could revive the Glasses line in the future.