Google
- Google Glass for businesses — known as the Enterprise Edition — announced its second-generation product on Monday, and said that the team has moved from the tech giant’s moonshot factory, X, into Google.
- Glass project lead Jay Kothari wrote in a blog post Monday that the division spun out of X to "meet the demands of the growing market for wearables in the workplace."
- A Google spokesperson told Business Insider on Monday that the Glass team will now sit within the AR & VR team at Google.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Google Glass for businesses — known as the Enterprise Edition — announced its second-generation product on Monday, and said that the team has moved from the tech giant’s moonshot factory, X, into Google.
Glass project lead Jay Kothari wrote in a blog post Monday that the division spun out of X to "meet the demands of the growing market for wearables in the workplace."
"Over the past two years at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, we’ve collaborated with our partners to provide solutions that improve workplace productivity for a growing number of customers," Kothari wrote. "Now, in order to meet the demands of the growing market for wearables in the workplace and to better scale our enterprise efforts, the Glass team has moved from X to Google."
A Google spokesperson told Business Insider on Monday that the Glass team will now sit within the AR & VR team at Google. The move was effective with the launch of Enterprise Edition 2 on Monday.
Glass Enterprise Edition is used by workers in a number of fields, including warehouse logistics and manufacturing. The Glass team touts that its technology can help workers work more efficiently, like pulling up checklists, viewing instructions, or sending inspection videos without needing to use their hands.
"Glass is not a hip way to hang apps in front of [the worker’s] eyeballs, but a tool — as much a tool as her power wrenches," author Steven Levy wrote about the original Enterprise Edition glasses back in 2017.
Google says its second-generation enterprise glasses features a more powerful central processing unit (CPU) to deliver a faster user experience, as well as an improved camera and increased battery life. Enterprise Edition 2 is also built on Android, the company says, making it easier for businesses to integrate existing systems and develop new applications for the product.
Original Google Glass prototypes were built for consumers and made available for fans and journalists back in 2013. Amid rocky reception to the quirky headsets — and, some fears about its ability to secretly record video — Glass shut down its beta program in early 2015 and was moved internally from the moonshot factory (then called Google X) to a division of its own within Google, run by the then-head of Nest, Tony Fadell.
Google Glass for consumers was never again made available. Instead, the company announced in January 2017 that it would bring its computing headset back, but this time for workers. Glass Enterprise Edition was first launched within X.
Monday’s announcement marks the second "graduation" for a Glass product from X to Google.
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Source: Business Insider – nbastone@businessinsider.com (Nick Bastone)