Wanna buy Google Glass? You’re out of luck
If today is the day, after years of contemplation, you were finally going to make the jump and commit to a Google Glass purchase, your endeavor is ill fated. I have some troubling news: the high-tech eyewear has just been pulled from the shelves. But fret not, friend. It’s for a good reason.
The classic Google approach, used with Gmail, is to make an early debut to a closed group. From there, they’d collect feedback and fix the bugs before it really hit the market. However, doing so with Glass resulted in a backlash from the public, and poor PR for the product. After testing in the public eye, using the public eye, its 2014 launch experienced very mild success.
Let’s be honest – It’s not exactly the most practical thing Google has cooked up, and it calls into question all sorts of privacy concerns, such as “Are you videotaping me right now?” and “Stop videotaping me right now.”
In addition, there were a few technological bases that had not been covered upon its release, resulting in a relatively unfavorable reception. If something is going to set me back $1.5k, it better be flawless.
Closing the doors on development
Following Apple’s successful lead, Glass developers are now going to work on the new version behind closed doors and put out a final product once it is completely finished.
Among the improvements, the new Glass will feature clearer sound and display quality in addition to a more efficient battery. But let’s be realistic, one of the major points people were really turned so sideways about was the price. Google noted that, and plans to charge less for the new version.
What will happen this time around?
Although it has its fair share of kinks to work out, Google Glass still has enough backing to hit hard upon its return. The tough part for Google, originally, was to plan exactly how users would actually integrate the product into their daily life (hence the market testing). Hopefully, this time around, they dot all of their i’s before the product finds its way back into the hands of the general public again.
