As a kid, we all wanted our very own scouter eyepiece just like Vegeta had in Dragon Ball Z (well, maybe not all of us – but they sure seemed cool!). When Google announced back in 2013 that they had created a glasses device HUD, the child in all of us had a small freak out. Yet, after years of waiting for this kind of product, it somehow disappeared from the world before it even took off, and we kind of forgot all about it. Some people don’t even know it ever existed. So whatever happened to this wonderful device that was straight out of a science fiction movie?
The Price
The price is an obvious reason why the product failed. The price to purchase a prototype and act as a “tester” was $1,500. Yes, for a device that had less connectivity than your average smartwatch. That was another issue but we’ll get to that later. Because of the high price tag, Google struggled to get many users on board to beta test the device. As you can imagine, this raised many red flags that the traction they once hoped for such a device may have been a pipe dream.
Functionality
Even though the device was still in beta, there really just wasn’t much it could do compare to smartwatches or even your phone alone. It acted merely as a notification hub. Alerts, calendar notifications, only the basics. Many saw this as a cool gadget, but as far as something that could limit phone use, it was highly unlikely. Not to mention that not everyone in the world wears glasses, so there is always that limitation for those with 20/30 vision.
Shift in Markets
Google has since focused “Glass” technology into other markets such as business rather than the average consumer. This technology was seen to have more of a productivity value in the professional workplace rather than in the hands of every smartphone user. A device that could act much like a second monitor could be groundbreaking in getting work done twice as fast. Of course, even this idea is still trying to move mountains within corporations to adopt the idea.
Overall, Google Glass was a brilliant science-fiction idea. But of course, everything we see in the movies might not be as practical as we once thought, and they may be more of a headache than what they actually worth.
