How Google Is Learning From Past Mistakes With New Version of Glass
New details and photos of Google's eye wear appear in an FCC filing.
— -- Nearly one year after Google pulled sales of its consumer version of Google Glass, its team is back with plans for a revamped version of the futuristic eye wear that fixes previous concerns about privacy and portability.
While no release date has been set, the latest filings from Google posted this week on the Federal Communications Commission's website show how the company addressed the biggest concern that dogged the first edition of Glass -- its camera.
The new plans for Glass include a green light that will turn on when a user is recording video, according to the FCC filings.
Restaurants, movie theaters and strip clubs had banned the device over concerns users could surreptitiously use the eye wear to record video.
"With the first version of Glass, users were shunned and mocked to the point that owners stopped wearing them," Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, told ABC News. "Google learned the hard way that users don't want anonymous videos or photos taken of them and therefore on the new version, they added a light when the camera is in use."
The filings also show Google has tweaked the design of Glass by moving the power button to the back of the glasses. Another key change includes a hinge, making it easier to fold Glass and presumably slip it into a smaller carrying case that could perhaps fit into a small bag or even someone's front pocket. The first edition of Glass required users to carry around a larger hard case.
The latest plans for Glass are reportedly aimed at business users instead of everyday consumers. While Google has made some design tweaks, Moorhead said "size and style aren't as big of an issue" with the latest version.
Glass went on sale to the public in May 2014 for $1,500. Earlier this year Google vowed that the public would see a next generation of Glass. Less than a year later, it appears Google is making good on that promise.
Glass is a part of Google X. Google X is a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet.
