Google recently announced that it is officially discontinuing its AR headset, Google Glass Enterprise Edition (opens in new tab). Long out of the consumer market, this widely known wearable computer/head-up display was still available to potential business customers. 'Thank you for over a decade of innovation and partnership. As of March 15, 2023, we will discontinue sales of the Glass Enterprise Edition and will continue to support it through September 15, 2023."

If you are like me, you saw this news and thought, "Wait, wasn't Google Glass discontinued 8 years ago?"

You might have thought, "But actually, it had a second life before that, in industrial and medical applications.

Back in 2013, Glass was another shining promise of Google Future, along with Chrome, Fiber, and Android OS support. The initial rollout of the Glass headset was hyped by tech journalists and enthusiastic influencers; Glass offered a heads-up display, could take pictures, and in some ways was a precursor to smartphone-adjacent wearables like the Apple Watch and the more advanced Fitbits

It was also a precursor to smartphone-adjacent wearables, such as the Apple Watch and the more advanced Fitbits.

It was also a techie peak, as in "oh my gosh, these guys are rewiring our brain chemicals with extensive reactive advertising," and "haha, this Silicon Valley show is pretty funny, as Ars Technica (opens in new tab) notes As Ars Technica (opens in new tab) points out, calling Glass wearers "Glassholes" was a real thing. In simpler times, and as Google often does with products like Reader and Stadia, consumer Glass quietly disappeared from the stage in 2015.

Then Enterprise came along, and the second act of wearables was about to end: a 2015 Bloomberg (open in new tab) article (readers may encounter a paywall) described its potential use in healthcare environments, and a 9to5Google ( (opens in new tab) post from 2017 outlines the full Enterprise specification. Here, it seems to have penetrated less successfully than personal use.

Now, Google Glass. like the Dreamcast, HD DVD, and Betamax, is a failure of its time. We live in the future of Silicon Valley, but Glass seemed to promise a more pleasant future. It is interesting to note that the entire stadium's existence is now bound at both ends by Google Glass. Shut down game streaming services can't take a break.