Graduated or grounded, the viewpoint on the future of Google Glass' future depends which side of the $1500 smart glasses the beholder is beholding from.
No matter what's next for Google Glass, it's clear that negative reception of the smart glasses on the street has played a role in driving the wearable tech into its next iteration or deep into the enterprise.
Google Glass is moving out of the clandestine Google X and into its own division, which will work under the watchful eyes of Ivy Ross. Ross is a former Apple executive and the current chief of Google's Nest arm.
"Glass was in its infancy, and you took those very first steps and taught us how to walk," stated Google through its Glass account on Google+. "Well, we still have some work to do, but now we're ready to put on our big kid shoes and learn how to run."
Google's smart glasses may indeed find success inside of workplaces, outside of cafes and nestled in homes. But if Google Glass' horrid year was any indication, Google has realized that the product's only hope for success will be in the enterprise.
In 2014, Google Glass saw the shuttering of its Basecamp brick-and-mortar stores and developers of consumer apps began to jump ship. Even Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin appeared to loose a bit of confidence in the smart glasses, when he showed up to a red carpet even without the wearables that were all but synonymous with his appearance.
Glass at Work, the enterprise development initiative, was one of the few bright spots for the embattled smart glasses in 2014. While the mainstream often derided Google Glass and its wearer when every either emerged in the news or explored a public street, enthusiasm among its enterprise partners hasn't waned.
News on Google Glass went quiet during the last few months of 2014, with the only news related to the wearables sparking rumors that Google was preparing to hand over much of the work on the project to Intel.
With the founding of Google Glass' very own division, it appears Intel will only be proving horsepower for the smart glasses and won't be taking over operations. But it remains to be seen whether the Google Glass division will refresh the smart glasses to attract consumers or will focus on the area in which it has managed to find some form of success.
The Glass Explorer program closes on Jan. 19 and won't be available to consumers, but businesses and enterprise developers will still be able to purchase the smart glasses.
Google hasn't announced if or when it plans to make Google Glass available to consumers again, but there are still several ways for individuals to obtain some smart frames. There's always eBay and Amazon, but the spirit of Google Glass is also living on in products offered by other manufacturers.
