Reports surfaced in April that Google Glass may have a second life — thanks to a little help from an Italian eyeglass company named Luxottica.
Google announced in January that it was taking Google Glass off the market, even though the item had been touted as a big holiday season tech stocking stuffer a year prior. But reports indicated that Google wanted to eventually bring its Glass product back. Months later, it showed that a redesign could include features like “longer battery life, improved sound quality and a better display,” according to what Google Glass leader Ivy Ross told The Wall Street Journal in January.
Now, fast forward to July when reports from 9to5Google said that Google Glass will be entering its testing phase later this year for the Enterprise Edition of the wearable technology. The reports followed the filing of a device with the FCC named GG1, speculated by industry insiders to be a codename for the next generation of Google Glass.
Unnamed sources told the site that the next version of the product will be named Enterprise Edition or Google Glass EE. Reports said that it will have an entirely new strategy and hardware than the consumer-facing Google Glass. The device is said to have boosted Wi-Fi capabilities, Bluetooth LE and other features particularly useful to the workplace. Industry experts said that the filing signals that Google is ready for the testing phase for the new gadget and will likely make an announcement for the product in the near future.
And finally, fast forward to the end of 2015, and there’s finally a design that’s been revealed, according to 9to5Google‘s latest report. While the design appears to look very similar to the last version, this upgrade is said to have many enhanced features.
That includes better battery life, a better processor and enhanced wireless connectivity for video streaming. It’s also reportedly coming with a new chip that’s intended to improve the device’s overall performance. This, however, is still somewhat speculative as Google hasn’t formally announced its plans. But 9to5Google reported that sources indicate that there are people running tests of Google Glass in companies.
What this means is the device could likely be plotted to launch for companies via Glass for Work startups, which will involve partnering with companies to enable their own software on the device, according to the report.