Google’s second swing at smart glasses seems a lot more sensible

A focus on design and functionality should avoid another Glass-tier flop

Well over a decade on from its initial launch, it’s safe to say that Google Glass was not a success. While the product had some forward-thinking ideas, it’s generally not a good sign when your product leads to the coinage of a brand-new insult. The design was off-putting and the technology wasn’t ready — and neither was society.

Today, things are a little different. Meta and Ray-Ban’s smart glasses are a hit, despite offering the same camera capabilities that turned so many off Google Glass in the first place. It helps, of course, that they just look like normal Ray-Bans.

So for Google’s second swing at the product category, it’s focusing on design and functionality. At its I/O keynote, Google’s XR VP Shahram Izadi gave a snappy but convincing demonstration of how the company plans to attack the form factor this time around.