10 Years After Google Glass
Google Glass came out in April 2013 and it was both loved and hated by many — a trait that you look for in a groundbreaking product. We (the Ubi team) were fascinated by it because it was voice controlled and brought to center stage the argument that we were pushing for the Ubi — that phones were distracting and that a handsfree, voice-based world could allow us to reconnect with out humanity.
Sergey Brin even referred to cellphones as “emasculating”. Everyone has their own definition of masculinity.
Since then, Google Glass eventually flopped but not because it wasn’t cool. The user experience just wasn’t that idyllic. People were constantly looking up to the right whenever there were notifications. Battery didn’t last long enough and it was weird to take a picture with Glass or tap yourself on your temple.
Other similar products have come and gone from the market. There were offerings from North, Alexa, Xiaomi and dozens of other companies. Spectacles still offer up something cool. However, the market still has not taken off for these devices. That’s OK.
There is other end of the spectrum where augmented reality glasses have real use and can help — in professional settings. Here, companies like Vuzix can offer a product at a high enough price point to push forward on innovation and to make. It might be that at some point again, these companies see that the experience and market trends are right again to push for consumer augmented reality. In which case, it needs to be an experience 100x better than Google Glass.
