Google Glass grows out of experimental group as Tony Fadell picks up leadership of project

BY Evan Selleck

Published 15 Jan 2015

Brian Ho

The wearable known as Google Glass has just been given a big shakeup within Google, including a new department, a new leader, and some changes to the hardware availability.

According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, January 15, Google Glass has been graduated from a pet project within the experimental Google X group, and been placed firmly within its own unit. Of note, this new unit within Google, which will be charged with progressing Glass even further, will be headed by Tony Fadell, who joined Google just over a year ago.

Additionally, the Google Glass Explorer Edition is coming to an end, with individual units being taken off the digital store shelves for purchase on January 19. Groups and businesses that still want to get their hands on the wearable, though, can do so through a new application process that will be set up soon. Additionally, the Glass at Work project is going to continue forward, too. This is interesting, considering the fact that reports suggested that a revision of Glass was set to debut in 2015, so the end of the Explorer program would certainly herald that arrival quite nicely.

After the initial report surfaced, Google made the changes official via a posting on its Glass Google+ page:

As part of this transition, we’re closing the Explorer Program so we can focus on what’s coming next. January 19 will be the last day to get the Glass Explorer Edition. In the meantime, we’re continuing to build for the future, and you’ll start to see future versions of Glass when they’re ready. (For now, no peeking.)

Did you get a chance to try out Google Glass?

[via WSJ; +Google Glass]