'Android of AR': Google's Next Move after Cancelling Project Iris Amid Apple's AR/VR Game Growth

Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google has canceled the next generation Google Glass venture dubbed Project Iris.

Following the February 2023 departure of Clay Bavor, Google's then vice president of the Labs division of experimental "forward-thinking" projects, Google is said to have dumped its own internal AR hardware development and is focusing on making the "Android of AR" platforms instead, Android Central reports.

Also Read: Vision Pro vs. Google Glass: Is It Time For An Augmented Reality Comeback?

Project Iris was a type of smart glass that could help augment reality with helpful information like real-time translation or guided navigation via Google Maps. Google demoed a pair of glasses similar to this concept at Google I/O 2022.

As per insiders, Google continually shifted its strategy for Project Iris Glass, frustrating employees and causing turmoil within the group. Google is entirely through with AR hardware, and some employees remain at Google's Labs division to further develop AR hardware.

The remainder of Google's AR Labs division will move on to developing the software platform likely to power future Extended Reality (XR) devices for companies like Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd SSNLF instead of developing its hardware.

Earlier in March, Google had halted sales of augmented reality smartglasses branded as Glass Enterprise Edition.

Price Action: GOOG shares traded higher by 0.32% at $119.39 on the last check Wednesday.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons