Intel could be about to lend Google a hand with its stalling Google Glass project, a report from the Wall Street Journal has revealed.
The usual “people familiar with the matter” have told the WSJ that an Intel chip will replace the current Texas Instruments technology inside the iconic smartglasses.
Essential reading: Wearable tech has moved on from Google Glass
What’s more, it seems that Intel will also “promote” Glass to corporations and businesses, a sure sweetener for the deal. Glass has seen better uptake in the business world than the consumer one, and Google has already been helping companies to create bespoke apps via the Glass At Work program.
Intel’s expertise is within business and its server division is used to speaking to huge corporations and establishing long-term deals and relationships. With Intel’s backing, Glass could receive a shot in the arm, and a way into some of the world's biggest companies.
The Intel effect
It remains to be seen what effect Intel’s technology will have on Glass itself. The company has been busy working on a number of wearable projects from the Intel MICA to the fantastic SMS Audio headphones.
One of Google’s big challenges is increasing Glass' battery life – and Intel’s tech could be crucial here. Unlike most wearables, Glass is quite intensive and feature rich; there’s a screen to power, a camera, recording and a tonne of apps and information to deal with.
Intel’s existing wearable processor technology has shown great potential for the more intensive applications, as Wareable found out when we chatted to Jim Chase, head of Edison at the Maker Faire in Rome.
Efficiently powering intensive applications and then getting the processor back down to a low-power state quickly is one of Intel’s strengths. It means the next version of Google Glass could have more powerful features, better usability and last all day...we can hope, can't we?
Source: Wall Street Journal
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.