There"s been a good deal of speculation in recent weeks about the future of Google Glass. There have been no significant updates to the wearable device for quite a while, and Twitter - one of the very few third-party companies to support Glass - recently abandoned its support for the device.
Google"s plans to showcase Glass alongside other key technologies and products from the company in "floating showrooms" on converted barges were also dropped. All in all, it"s not terribly surprising that some people have come to the conclusion that Google isn"t as committed to Glass as it once was.
But Glass isn"t dead yet - and it looks like it won"t be for some time to come. The Wall Street Journal has uncovered info on the next-generation of Google"s wearable device, suggesting that the company remains committed to it after all.
Google is reportedly ditching the Texas Instruments processor from Glass, and has instead chosen Intel to supply processors for the next-gen hardware. No details are yet available on which processor will be used in the new Glass, but you can certainly expect it to offer ultra-low power consumption. Just last month, Intel showed off a wearable device concept, using one of its own processors based on ARM technology.
It sounds like Intel intends to push Glass in a pretty big way, as the report claims that it "plans to promote Glass to companies such as hospital networks and manufacturers, while developing new workplace uses for the device", citing unnamed "people familiar with the matter".
It"s not yet clear exactly when the new Glass will arrive, beyond the expectation that it will launch some time "next year".
Source: The Wall Street Journal | image via Google