Features
It’s normal that some tech products just don’t take off with the public, but rarely do you see the kind of negative reaction to a product as you did with Google Glass. While it’s fair to say developers thought the device was interesting--if not outright awesome--those that were seen wearing the devices in public became known as Glassholes to the world at large. Not only did the general public think wearers of Glass looked like cyborgs, they also began to not trust them as they felt they never knew when they might be being recorded. This distrust and outright loathing of Glass went so far as to see the company release a guide on how not to creep out people on the street when using Google Glass.
Alas, that guide wasn’t enough to win over the public and Google quietly stopped selling Glass last month. However at that time Google said it was committed to developing the product and it now seems that development commitment might be farther along than we thought. According to a report from 9to5Google, the company “has given—and continues to give—a select group of its coveted Glass at Work partners very early versions of the next iteration of the device to test and develop for.”
But if Glass 2 is going to succeed where the original Glass failed, it’s going to need some big improvements. Here’s our advice:
Better Battery Life
This is the most obvious feature improvement needed--and not just for Google Glass, but any wearable. Though Google touted that Glass would last for "one day of typical use” many users found the device would run out of juice after only 4 to 6 hours. And if they were shooting video, sometimes the device would last for only 30 minutes.
Of course, a better battery life is going to be something that is hard to implement, especially considering some of the other feature requests on this list. And right now the simple fact of the matter is today’s battery tech just isn’t good enough to power small wearables for over 24 hours.
Less Creep Factor
Wearers of Glass might have found it awesome, but everyone else found it really creepy. People always felt that they might be being recorded when someone with Glass was looking at them. And given that Glass wearers had this vacant look on their face as they were concentrating on their displays most of the time, they just looked shady as hell.
I’m honestly not sure how Google can achieve this (though the suggestion below can help a little). One way might be to put a public facing big red blinking light on Glass that activates when you are recording or taking photos so everyone on the street can clearly see when you are and aren’t doing it.
Designed With Fashion in Mind
As the Apple Watch is slowly proving, if you want wearables to catch on with the public, they need to be designed with fashion in mind. Eyewear is often as much a piece of jewelry and a fashion accessory as it is a medical device. Google’s Glass looked like anything but a fashion accessory. And hey, most early prototypes don’t, to be fair. But in order to catch on with the public Glass 2 is going to have to be much more fashionable and come in a wide array of frame options. Look at the Apple Watch: there are literally millions of fashion combinations when you take all the colors, materials, watch bands, and software clock faces into account.
Eye Customization
But Google may be able to make Glass 2 fashionable without even needing to make frames. It would be killer if Glass 2 was nothing more than a snap-on dongle you could attach to the frames you already own. Or at least a dongle that snaps on to frames of a certain dimension--which Google could then let fashion accessory makers make the frames for and Google would just work on making the Glass 2 dongle. A dongle would also give people the ability to wear Glass 2 on either the left or right eye.
Better Price
The introductory price of the first Glass was close to $1500 US dollars which is just STUPIDLY insane when you’re trying to get people to adopt a new product that, arguably, doesn’t solve any problems they have. We’re hoping a Glass 2 dongle could be priced around £200 with a series of frames costing anywhere from £30 for low-end ones all the way up to £2000+ for high-end, fashion conscious ones.
Improved Camera
Even though the first Glass’s camera functions led to its creep factor, if Google does choose to put a public-facing warning light on the Glass 2 I think people will be more receptive to its users. In that case it would be great if Glass 2 came with a better quality camera. The first Glass took 5MP pictures and recorded 720p video. Bumping that up to 8MP pics and full 1080p would be awesome. And an optical zoom would be an added bonus.
A Location Aware HUD
In speaking with early Glass Explorers one of the most wished for features is a location aware heads up display. Two ways such a location aware HUD would be awesome is if Google incorporated its WordLens app to automatically translate the things you looked at. This would be great for travelers in foreign countries--or even cool for people strolling down to their local Chinatown. Another way a location aware HUD would be good is for hikers who need the local terrain mapped out in front of them or skiers or surfers who want all the latest weather data, including wind speed and tides, automatically pushed to their eyepiece.
Waterproofing
Unlike smartphones, which live in our pockets, wearables are subject to the weather a large amount of time. Since Glass 2 is meant to be worn on the face and doesn’t even have the protection of a sleeve like the Apple Watch does, it would be great if Google could fully waterproof the device. This would be also great for sports people like skiers and surfers who want to wear them in precipitation-heavy conditions.
15:49, 25 Feb 2015
by michaelg via Featured Articles
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