This post was published 11 years, 4 months ago. Due to the rapidly evolving world of technology, some material it contains may no longer be applicable.
Before I/O is even underway Google is already kicking things off with a tonne of Google Glass news!
Google has announced an updated hardware revision for Glass now with 2GB RAM (vs 1GB previously). This should improve performance and help with keeping more apps active in the background, which will be handy with an increasing amount of Glassware available.
This is good news for potential buyers but not so great if you already own one as Google has said that unlike with the previous revisions, they will not be providing free upgrades to existing owners. This is likely to annoy those who have already spent $1500 on a pair.
However, existing Explorers need not despair as it is believed that all Glass owners will still be upgraded when the final consumer-ready version is released. It has also transpired that those who purchased Glass relatively recently may already have the 2GB model.
The rest of the hardware specs, including the ageing Texas Instruments OMAP chip, are apparently unchanged. We suspect that is to keep things simple for developers and don’t imagine this will be altered until the final model.
There is also more good news as alongside this hardware update Google revealed a bunch of new Glassware and a system software update, which will add some cool new features.
The first of the features is a viewfinder which can be called up when you say, “Ok, Glass, show the viewfinder.” This will allow you better frame your shots before capturing the picture by pressing the camera button, using voice command or simply with a wink. Taking a picture directly without this will still be possible as before for those “blink-and-you-will-miss-it” moments.
The Glass team also announced that they will also be adding more Google Now cards for tracking packages and reminding you where you parked your car. Full details about the update (both hardware and software) in the Google+ post below:
We briefly mentioned the launch of some new Glassware yesterday evening in our “What We Expect” post but here is the full list of what is going to be rolling out for Glass owners:
- Runtastic
- 94Fifty Basketball
- The Guardian
- Duolingo
- GuidiGO
- Allthecooks
- Zombies, Run!
- Star Chart
- Shazam
- Goal.com
- Livestream
- musiXmatch
Quite a range of exciting stuff I am sure you will agree. Glass is quickly maturing and you can feel it inching closer to something your average consumer would use. Here you can see the original Google+ post about the new Glassware:
So what do you think? Are you excited about these updates? Do you think existing Glass Explorers should have been upgraded for free? We would love it hear what you have to say! Remember though that this is just the beginning of what Google has in store and we are sure more is to come during the event!
