Google Glass is still alive and kicking, with the Mountain View-based tech giant expected to deliver a new version of its hardware next year that’s powered by an Intel processor, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal. The new chip will replace a processor from Texas Instruments that has been powering the current generation of Glass.
As a part of the processor upgrade, Intel will promote Glass for business use, focusing on hospitals and manufacturers who could see benefits by providing their employees with the face-mounted device. Google has been making its own push into the business world with its Glass for Work program, and this partnership could help further those efforts.
It’s good news for fans of the wearable device, which has faced a very negative reaction over privacy concerns and a perception that the device is just too weird. While this partnership may focus on the business side of Glass, Google’s internal development team is still focused on consumer applications, according to the report.
According to an unnamed source, there are about 300 members of the Glass team, and only about 5 percent of them are tasked to Glass for Work. It remains to be seen if those people can create a widely appealing device, especially since plenty of businesses have prohibitions about using Glass.
