Google Glass was released in early 2013 to developers and in 2014 anyone who had $1,500 could purchase a pair of the newest wearable. Most critics consider the release a complete failure. They didn’t sell well and people wearing the new technology received a lot of backlash. Another common critique is that Google Glass lacked the aesthetics and price point to lead to widespread adoption. Now, you rarely see anyone wearing Glass in public.
You wouldn’t think this entice a lot of other companies to get into the market, but Sony has done just that.
Sony believes there will be a market and that they have solved all the problems with Google Glass with one simple change. Their SmartGlass is a detachable clip that you can attach to either your sunglasses or prescriptions. In theory, this solves the aesthetic issue because the user will choose the glasses they like. If the user is going to be on a crowded area where people might take offense to the smart glasses they can be removed.
As far as functionality Sony’s new smart glasses are pretty similar to Glass. Unfortunately, they haven’t released any but have demonstrated some of the functionalities that were most popular with Google Glass. One important difference between the two which many have criticized is that the display is not right in front of you like with Glass but rather off to the side. This could prove problematic in certain situations.
Sony’s new device looks like it achieves the same ends as Google Glass without some of the issues. Google has recently picked up a few patents and is working on a second version of Glass, it is ery possible that they will solve some of the problems with the initial release. They are also going to sell to commercial customers as many of them have found ways for them to be more useful.