Google has made an early announcement just before its I/O Conference kicks off in San Francisco. Glass, Google's oft-mocked computerized headgear, is getting a nice upgrade and some helpful new features.
The good: Effective with all Glass devices shipping from this point on, the new standard will be 2 GB of RAM.
The not-so-good: Users with older models won't be able to upgrade 1 GB to 2 GB. Glass product manager Steve Lee told TheVerge the doubled RAM will "allow for more Glassware [apps] to run in parallel and for each Glassware [app] to start more quickly. You'll notice the device generally feels a bit faster and more reliable." Less noticeable will be the slightly larger battery inside, which gives Glass a boost of about 15 percent in between charges.
Glass has gotten an enhanced photography function called Viewfinder, which frames users' shots when they use the voice command, "OK, Glass, show the Viewfinder." Four white corner brackets will appear, helping users get a better idea of what their photos will look like. Users can take a photo by pushing the side camera button, winking, or with the voice command, "OK, Glass, take a picture." This feature comes as a direct answer to requests from Explorers (aka, early users).
Lastly, Glass is getting two new Google Now cards. Google Now, you may recall, is Google's context-sensitive, location-aware assistant. It does things like help you plan your day by combining your calendar of appointments, current location with real-time traffic data, and weather.
Glass' two new cards perform equally helpful tasks. The first will remind you where you parked your car the next time you walk out of Ikea or the football stadium or some other structure with a monster-sized parking lot. The second card is a delivery tracker for packages in transit via USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. It will give you updates on the status of your packages and let you know when they're being delivered. Google has promised more cards in the near future.
Nothing too earth-shattering here. Glass' new features are right in keeping with the device's overall software similarities to the average smartphone. That Google took the time to make these announcements separately from the Google I/O keynote event would seem to indicate that Glass won't be getting much stage time there. Any users hoping Google might be ready to announce shipping of the final consumer model are going to be disappointed.
