I would argue that all gadget lovers are already gradually beginning to get bored with the waiting we have been living in for the last couple of years. It all started with the fact that Google showed “smart glasses” in which Sergey Brin walked with or without reason, as if showing us that this is the future. That's just on those glasses while everything is hanging. Nobody else offered something really sensible and really working, although there were enthusiasts. Now there is news that Google has bought a company that develops and promotes the idea of smart glasses. Could this tell us about the search giant's desire to continue working in this direction? And the devil only knows … Let's figure it out.
Google is still going on. She wants to make good glasses.
Why companies will bury each other
Among IT companies, buying startups and shelf companies from competitors is common. After all, you don't just end up with an assembly line, a couple of offices and a brand. You also get all the patents, which individually can be expensive, and at the same time remove a competitor at the stage of formation. You can receive royalties for acquired patents or, conversely, use them yourself. Often buying them one at a time will be more expensive than buying the entire company as a whole.
We were accustomed to this behavior Apple, which actively finds companies that come up with something important and new. As a result, the founder receives an amount to the account, which often amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars, and possibly also a post in the company, in which he will continue to oversee development, receiving a decent salary.
Google bought the manufacturer of smart glasses
This time, Google distinguished itself, which also decided to buy a startup. The young company is called North, and it gained its fame due to the fact that it produced wearable glasses, very similar in appearance to Google Glass. There was only one model in the startup's lineup. It was named Focals 1.0. The second generation was also being developed, but work on it was curtailed.
This is what North Focals 1.0 looked like.
As a result of the deal, both Google and North published relevant entries on their blogs. At the same time, each of them expressed that he was happy with the deal. It seems that the joy is sincere. If North could have done something herself, she would have done it, but it seems that they didn’t succeed, and the money might just run out. For Google, this will be a “fresh look” approach that can be used very well in creating and promoting the next generation of Google Glass. This will come in very handy in competition with Apple, which is rumored to want to do something similar too.
When will the new Google Glass come out?
However, there is still no understanding of how the structure of the company acquired by Google will be changed. Perhaps it will simply become a subsidiary company, or maybe it will merge into the main one, becoming a division. There is also a possibility that it will cease to exist altogether, and employees will be laid off. However, this is not the most likely scenario, but if Google only wants patents, not engineers, then it may turn out to be so.
Overall, Google glasses look cool, but technically it's just a toy for now.
Talking about this on her blog, North closed her post by announcing that she would 'wind down' the Focals 1.0 project, the smart glasses that the company made. Those who have already ordered the second generation of glasses will receive full money back, as this model will simply not be produced.
This behavior after the transaction makes it clear that Google is interested in the company precisely in terms of producing its own wearable gadget. In order not to breed competitors and not to beat off the market for herself, she simply closed all production, and put the most interesting developments at the heart of her product. But when will it be?
Google does not have time to relax, and since they started talking about the fact that it is interested in such a technology and such a product Apple, it means that it is really interested in it and will do everything possible to occupy this niche.
Will everyone soon walk around the city like this?
Augmented reality Apple and Google
Additional evidence of her desire to develop in this direction is the numerous statements by Cupertinians that AR is the technology of the future. Tim Cook personally said that he didn’t believe in VR, but believed in AR, and Apple proved it by deed, “rolling out” new augmented reality features in iPhone and iPad. Because of this, Google needs to work as quickly as possible.
In the end, such a deal is good for everyone. North did not show explosive growth and it is not clear if it could exist and develop further. Google has received a tool to develop its AR device. And we won because we got excellent competition in this field, which should lead to the acceleration of the development of augmented reality technologies.
When such glasses appear, just imagine how many advantages it will bring us. We will take a completely different look at shops, at sights, at people, at nature and at other familiar things, and those that the wonderful world of augmented reality will just open to us – so long-awaited and almost come.