Sources claim Google is still committed, however, to releasing an updated model for the public.
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Re/code has learned that a version of the second edition of Google’s wearable, which was erroneously assumed dead when the search giant obfuscated about its future earlier this year, has already been distributed to the company’s Glass at Work enterprise partners.
The new Glass is a curved rectangle, similar to the first Explorer version, but does not include a wire-like frame.
As stated by the report, Google won’t be heralding this new hardware in an official launch – instead opting to distribute the hardware to software developers directly. Google is said to be testing more in business to skirt privacy issues which plagued initial versions of Glass, which led to the famous “Glasshole” branding. In fact, the company is said to have been planning a new consumer Glass up until late 2014, when the project was scrapped. It makes great sense for Google to pivot the widely panned but inarguably futuristic technology towards enterprise customers, especially since using Glass in private workplaces would presumably cut down on privacy concerns. That said, the report does offer consumers some hope, as it does state that Google is indeed working on a consumer version as well.
The earlier model had been used by surgeons to remotely supervise medical students in real time.
Another source said that Google has pushed to keep the Glass team in place, implementing a freeze on transferring out of the division in April, after several Googlers tried to exit following the shuttering of the Explorer program. Field workers tested it while fixing expensive machinery with help from co-workers back at headquarters. The workplace version will also have a battery pack and longer prism – which is how a wearer sees digital images and graphics overlaid on top of what that person usually sees.
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The new model, as reported by 9to5Google, can fold up like a traditional pair of glasses and is more rugged for outdoor use.
