It appears that Google will be giving augmented reality glasses another shot in the future

This is according to the New York Times, which claims that Google is "fostering new projects" and is "working on a new iteration of smart glasses" This corroborates a job posting from last year that mentioned plans for "innovative AR devices"

Unfortunately, this is about as much detail as the Times gives, but the report suggests that this is a direct result of Google's acquisition of North last year Prior to the acquisition, North sold one set of smart glasses called Focals

North teased a second generation before the acquisition, which could form the basis for Google's latest attempt at AR

Google's first attempt at AR Glass was, of course, a disaster, or more generously, "ahead of its time" Google Glass was marketed to the public as the "Explorer's Edition," and its hefty $1500 price tag made its limitations - poor battery life and sparse functionality - hard to swallow

The built-in camera also raised privacy concerns All of this, coupled with the unfortunate nickname of "glasshole" given to early adopters, meant that the product was discontinued for consumers in 2015 It is still sold to businesses, though

Why would Google want to repeat such a publicized failure? Well, over the past seven years, there have been many changes that would lead one to believe that the company could play it safe this time around

For one, mobile chips have become much more powerful, allowing Google to create immersive AR experiences without having to rely on phones In fact, Google has developed its own Tensor chip for the Google Pixel 6 line and could very well use that silicon in wearables

The biggest problem with Glass was how ostentatious it looked The design tried to look as much like regular glasses as possible, but the technology at the time was difficult to blend in, which is not surprising when one remembers that 2013 was the year of the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, and HTC One With the leap forward in both technology and miniaturization, AR headsets in 2022 will be much more discreet

But even if smart glasses continue to have an overtly high-tech aesthetic, it may not matter Google Glass looked odd because almost no one normalized its appearance, but that may be about to change Apple has long been rumored to be interested in this area, apparently releasing its first AR headset this year

That may seem unlikely, but remember that AirPods once failed to gain traction because they were too weird looking If Apple can get the ball rolling, Google could benefit from the resulting change in attitude, and AR could take off in a big way in the next few years