Last month’s Google I/O 2023 gave us many exciting announcements. The annual Google conference for developers, where the company unveils many of its upcoming software and hardware products, showcased, among other things, the highly anticipated Pixel Fold, which can be pre-ordered in some regions for $1,800; AI integrations in Google Workspace, and new AI-powered features for Google Search.
But not everything Google announces at its annual event comes to fruition. The company had “Project Iris” in the works, a pair of augmented reality glasses that were announced at Google I/O 2022, but according to Insider, their development has been canceled. The glasses were supposed to have the ability to perform automatic translations and transcriptions, as well as serve as a navigation tool.
Insider details that Google would have canceled the project to focus on software development rather than hardware. To do so, the tech giant is creating “micro XR,” a platform that could be licensed to other hardware brands. This situation is similar to that of Android, Google’s operating system used in third-party mobile devices.
After this change in direction, Google would be developing the software for augmented reality glasses similar to ski goggles for Samsung. Insider’s sources claim that Google’s AR glasses “were actually the foundation” for these future Samsung glasses, with more information expected to be revealed “later this year,” as stated by Google’s Vice President, Sameer Samat, at Google I/O 2023.
Google adds another canceled project to its long list of products that either never materialized or were discontinued after failing to meet the company’s expectations. This series of failures, while having little impact on the economy of a tech giant like Google, does significantly damage its image.
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