As many of you might have heard by now, Google has decided to shut down the Explorer program for Google Glass, but what was it that could have led to the downfall of Google’s wearable headset? After all it was brimming with all sorts of potential. Perhaps overhyping the product might have been to blame, according to Google X boss Astro Teller.
In a talk given by Teller during SXSW, he admitted that Google had allowed the hype of Google Glass to get a bit out of hand, and to a certain extent they even encouraged it. Teller was quoted as saying, “We allowed and sometimes even encouraged too much attention for the program,” ultimately failing to make clear that the device they were selling was merely a prototype.
Heck, with Google opening up the Explorer program to the public, we suppose it could have been perceived by customers that the device they were buying could be close to the actual finished product. As you might have heard by now, Google has decided to shut down the Explorer program and reboot the Google Glass project, which will now be led by Tony Fadell and will not see a public beta program.
Previously Google offered another explanation as to why their Glass project failed, and it was because it did not exactly have the impact that Google was after. In any case we can only hope that Google has learnt from their mistakes and that the next iteration of Glass will go a lot better.
Filed in . Read more about Google, Google Glass and Wearable Tech.