Google Glass may have a second life — with a little thanks to an Italian eyeglass company named Luxottica, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Google announced in January that it was taking Google Glass off the market, even though the item had been touted as a big holiday season tech stocking stuffer a year prior. But reports indicated that Google wanted to eventually bring its Glass product back. Now, it looks like Luxottica has been brought in to help Google redesign its once promising project.
That redesign could include features like “longer battery life, improved sound quality and a better display.” according to what Google Glass leader Ivy Ross told WSJ in January.
While Google Glass put its consumer debut on hold (after a slow start in mid-2014), it was reportedly given to Tony Fadell, head of Google’s Nest connected home division, as a project to determine how it could eventually make its way back. In WSJ‘s report on the matter, it indicates that the Italian eyeglass maker’s CEO Massimo Vian recently visited California to meet with the Google Glass team. No indication of what the next version will look like, or when it would be released, has been shared.
“In Google, there are some second thoughts on how to interpret version 3 [of the eyewear],” Vian told shareholders, according to WSJ. “What you saw was version 1. We’re now working on version 2, which is in preparation.”
Vian also said that Luxottica may partner with Intel for another product sometime in early 2016.
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