Google Dumps AR Smart Glass Enterprise Sales, No Reasons Disclosed

Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google has halted sales of augmented reality smartglasses branded as Glass Enterprise Edition effective March 15, 2023.
Google will continue supporting Glass Enterprise Edition until September 15.
Google will stop supporting the pre-installed Meet on Glass app after September 15, and the app may stop working anytime after September 15.
Google will continue to replace devices under the existing process until September 15.
Google sold the smart glasses product line to developers and early adopters in 2013 for $1,500. However, it failed to gain traction as a mainstream product despite backing from Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CNBC reports.
The built-in camera triggered user privacy concerns.
Google most recently released a new $999 version of the hardware in 2019.
Google’s retreat comes as rivals, including Meta Platforms Inc META and Apple Inc AAPL, splurge over augmented reality and virtual reality technology.
Meta has released Ray-Ban smart glasses with cameras but no display. Apple is reportedly preparing a virtual reality headset. Microsoft Corp MSFT has its own augmented reality glasses for businesses, HoloLens.
Last summer, Google previewed a different pair of smart glasses that could translate and transcribe speech in real time.
Google spokesperson Patrick Seybold told The Verge that the company is still “deeply committed to AR” and that it’s “been building AR into many Google products, and we’ll continue to look at ways to bring new, innovative AR experiences across our product portfolio.”
Price Action: GOOG shares traded higher by 0.42% at $96.96 on the last check Thursday.

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