Google Will Develop AR Technology for OEM Partners After Cancelling 'Project Iris' AR Smart Glasses: According to a Report

According to a source, Google's Project Iris, the search giant's multi-year ambition to develop augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, has been halted. Unlike Apple's previously unveiled Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset at WWDC 2023, the firm was working on building a pair of AR smart glasses that resembled a pair of eyeglasses. Rather than creating a wearable AR gadget. According to reports, Google intends to continue developing AR software and services while OEM partners concentrate on releasing AR hardware.

According to a Business Insider article, Google had been working on Project Iris, the company's wearable AR spectacles, for several years before cancelling the project early this year. According to the article, the search giant ended Project Iris following a series of failures that included employment layoffs and the departure of its leader of AR and VR, Clay Bavor.

Google stated last year that it will begin outdoor testing of its AR-powered glasses with real-time translation across many languages in August. In a blog post, the business also indicated that it was working on other capabilities such as AR-based navigation that would be able to display data about congested junctions and weather conditions.     

Instead, Google is said to be focusing on the creation of an Android extended reality (XR) software platform for OEM partners like Samsung to assist them build AR/VR devices. According to the article, the platform's software is being built in the form of a prototype nicknamed Betty.

Samsung stated in February that it will cooperate with Google and Qualcomm to build a new XR headset, with the gadget expected to be released soon. Samsung allegedly filed a trademark for AR- and VR-capable Galaxy Glasses earlier this year, implying that the firm is intending to reveal a wearable headset in the coming months.

However, none of the three companies involved have revealed any other information on the headgear, including specifics about its look. According to the Business Insider article, two Google workers believe that the company's teams are still working on AR and that Project Iris may be revived at some time in the future.