The team around Project Iris is a well-kept secret within Google that is working on AR glasses that would come to market in 2024.
Two Google engineers close to the development of new augmented reality (AR) glasses leaked the first details about the project to The Verge. Like the “mixed reality” glasses Apple is working on, Project Iris uses external cameras to show an “augmented” view of the world around you.
The current prototype looks very much like ski goggles. Computational power is via the Google Cloud or an external computer, but it goes without saying that the main emphasis will be on the former.
According to sources who spoke to The Verge, a team of 300 people are working on Project Iris today. Hundreds more would be added toward the headset’s launch.
Mixed reality race
Any leak should be taken with a grain of salt, but with projects at least two years away from launch, a bag of salt is more realistic. R&D projects at any company, especially Google, may remain experimental and never produce a final product.
On the other hand, the race to “mixed reality” does happen today with Meta, Apple and Microsoft experimenting with products in abundance or already having hardware available. Google should not and cannot fall behind.
Moreover, the search giant itself gained a great deal of experience within AR when it launched Google Glass back in 2012. The innovative glasses failed as a consumer product but are still actively offered for professional use today (see photo opening image).