Google seems to have shelved the AR glasses it has been developing for some time. The augmented reality glasses called “Project Iris”, which first appeared in 2022, were canceled as Google re-examined its position in the industry. The tech giant wants to focus on AR/VR software instead of a physical pair of glasses.
Google puts Project Iris on hold, AR apps are coming
According to emerging reports, Project Iris has encountered a number of obstacles that have caused frustration among Google engineers. In addition, layoffs within the company and the departure of Clay Bavor, who had been leading the AR/VR team for nearly 20 years, led to a complete break in the project.
We know that Google has wanted to move into AR/VR for many years. For example, in 2020, it acquired North, which produces AR glasses, and started using the company’s patents. In fact, the first examples of Project Iris were similar to the Focals developed by North.
Vision Pro, which has high hardware, will not make the weight felt to the user with its top strap. Apple has a plan for this accessory.
The newest development about the glasses revealed that it will be similar to the “translation glasses” shown at I/O 2022. For those who don’t know, Google developed Glass Enterprise, powered by the Tensor chip, to open up various AR features such as language translation and camera to users. Project Iris was rumored to be similar to Glass Enterprise.
Working on a smaller and lighter device instead of developing a large hardware, Google wanted to test AR prototypes in the real world. However, when the hardware tests did not go as desired, the project was shelved.
Google’s work in the AR/VR world will be more on the software side. Instead of developing a product, Google wants to license software to other companies producing AR glasses. In addition, some sources say that Android support may be offered to the glasses. It should be noted that the company is working on an operating system called “micro XR”.
