Revised Google Glass spied in FCC filing

[Shawn Knight]

High-resolution images of Google's revamped Glass wearable have cropped up in an FCC filing published on Monday, likely indicating that a production model isn't too far out.

While the headgear does share some similarities to the consumer-minded Explorer Edition we're all familiar with, there are enough differences to make it noteworthy.

The most obvious changes include a larger prism that can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally and a hinge allowing it to fold like a traditional pair of glasses. A report from The Wall Street Journal (corroborated by other publications) claims the augmented reality visor will be powered by a newer Intel Atom processor that'll increase battery life by as much as two hours.

Better Wi-Fi is also said to be in the cards, as is a magnetically-attachable external battery pack. Unfortunately, the external battery wasn't shown in the FCC filing.

The headset in question is rumored to be one of several iterations in development under the Project Aura banner (not to be confused with Project Ara, the modular smartphone initiative) with help from Amazon's Lab126 hardware division. This particular iteration could be limited to Glass for Work distribution meaning you won't be able to go out and buy one for everyday use.

The original Google Glass, codenamed Project Glass, was all the rage when it was unveiled in April 2012. The search giant had no problems selling the device to developers at $1,500 a pop but it was unforeseen privacy concerns that forced the company to end its Explorer program and rethink Glass' reason for being.

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[Uncle Al]

Police, customer service agents and anyone that has direct interaction with the public would probably benefit from these things, but for the average person I simply don't see the need or the benefit. It's getting to the point that soon, actual privacy laws will end up coming into effect and that strain that will put on the general population will be tremendous. Companies will be resisting allowing their employee's to wear them; it will be a major "no-no" for anyone in government or military jobs; while it is "cool", it just opens the doors for so many issues. I guess I'd chalk this one up to the old "just because we can, doesn't mean we should" point of view.