Google Glass: A history of the discontinued smart glasses, what they did, why they failed

Mon, 05/13/2024 - 03:53

A blue mannequin is wearing a pair of Google's smart glasses, known as Google Glass. — Google Glass, Google's smart glasses, were meant to be revolutionary but were released before they were ready and had a number of quality issues.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Google Glass existed for almost exactly 10 years before being discontinued.
Google Glass' failure came amid widespread quality issues and a general lack of adoption.
Apple's smart glasses, the Apple Vision Pro, seem to be succeeding where Google Glass failed.

First announced in 2012, and then released to a select number of product testers in 2013, Google Glass was thought by many tech experts and industry watchers to be a revolutionary new device that would change the way human beings and technology interacted.

With the benefit of hindsight, we now know those hopes were overblown.