Why Google Glass Failed? | Biggest Marketing Lessons to Learn from Google Glass Failure
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Have you ever wondered about the next level of revolution in technology? Well, a world-famous company had thought this through years ago. In fact, they were very near to making this revolutionary development in wearable technology. But, they failed! Must be wondering why? That company was Google, which took the initiative of bringing the most evolved technology measure.
Years ago, Google developed a smart wearable product named Google Glass. This was known to be Google "moonshot" technology. The image behind the invention was utterly brilliant but, the product didn't come to stand on its expectations. The product was highly criticized around every aspect from price to safety.
Google focused on hyping and uplifting people's expectations for its products but didn't bring out the harsh reality or its lacking in the market. This led to the major failure of Google Glass. The product's marketing campaign kept on promoting the product as the future's precursor technology.
But with so much dedication and evolved technology, how and why did the Google Glass fail? This revolutionary high potential holder product was largely rejected by the consumers from the mass-market. Google Glass failed in many elements such as health and safety concerns, extensively high price, heat issues and many more.
In this article, we have discussed these issues briefly and brought out a case study on how Google Glass failed!
Reasons for Google Glass Failure
- Concerns over Health and Safety
- No clear Functioning
- Battery Issues
- Overprice
- Language Issues
- Heating Issues
Marketing Lessons to learn from Google Glass Failure
Reasons for Google Glass Failure
Concerns over Health and Safety
As soon as the announcement and description of Google Glass came out among the people, there were some major concerns regarding its safety measures and how it could adversely affect our health.
People were concerned whether it would be safe to use Google Glass every day. Because as per the description, the product was expected to radiate carcinogenic radiation very close to our minds and eyes. However, other brand's products also emit many harmful radiations, but they don't make direct contact with our skin.
Moreover, Google Glass could capture any image at any time so there were some concerns raised for the privacy and piracy of lives. It could capture anything randomly without the knowledge of other people.
No clear Functioning
When a new product is launched in the market, the first question that comes is what issues does this product resolve. The functioning of the product is set before its invention. You cannot build a product based on whether people would be interested or not. Because planning the functionality of any product establishes the ground goals you are achieving with that product. Marketing strategy, promotion, target marketing and everything should be pre-planned.
However, Google Glass didn't stand on any of these scenarios. It had two functions: capturing pictures very quickly and searching anything on the Internet in seconds. There wasn't any usual or practical usage of this product. Therefore, it doesn't bring any major benefits to the customers.
Lakshya Singh
Battery Issues
Google Glass had a fixed battery limit of 4 hours, which means you need to keep on charging the glass after every four hours. The product could be discharged any time without your knowledge and then, it would be just useless until you charge it completely.
The energy consumption in this product was much more than usual. This would result in some major problems after purchasing. And, also there aren't any standard charging specifications. No matter how many times you charge it, it will be down after a few hours.
Overprice
Even with these drawbacks, Google Glass cost around $1,500. Although people were highly disappointed with this product, Google didn't minimise the pricing. It kept on with the price of $1,500.
The concerns related to Google Glass were not just random, these issues majorly affect the usage and functioning of this product. These issues couldn't be resolved after 2-3 sales, in fact, these required some well-researched and evolved changes.
Language Issues
Google Glass only worked properly with a native English speaker from the US or UK. But when it comes to sending or commanding in any other language, Google Glass wouldn't recognise it.
The major drawback is it cannot be corrected with the keyboard (as in smartphones) because there isn't any. So it means you can only command in British or American English. That's why it would become absolutely tough to handle.
Pratyusha Srivastava
Heating Issues
There were some critical concerning issues regarding the heating of Google Glass. When you record a video of 10-15 minutes, it becomes excessively heated because of the intensive computation working. Then, you would need to cool it down immediately otherwise it could cause some high damage not definitively wrong for health.
Marketing Lessons to learn from Google Glass Failure
Before launching any revolutionary and high-tech product, you must take a look at the lessons to be learnt from the failure of Google Glass. These lessons are widely described in the following points.
- Underline the everyday benefits of your product boldly, with the help of paid media who strengthen your product's PR.
- Release the product with a short and quick scheduled time to embrace the momentum of purchasing.
- Do not repeat the mistakes done by Google in the case of Google Glass.
- Launch your product with utter clearance on what goals you expected to achieve through your product.
- Maintain and monitor your product advertising and marketing to get a better experience as well as the opportunity to amend the drawbacks.
Conclusion
Google had put a great fraction of creativity and technology with Google Glass. It did try to monetize wearable technology. But, it lacked some major elements which resulted in a complete backup for this product. Google may have some very great and interesting plans and ideas for technology but, it does lose in the basic points of checklist.
Technology is evolving but, with this evolving technology, you must keep in mind that the requirements of consumers are fulfilled. The evolution of technology is in the hands of companies like Google but, the question is, whether the future is products like Google Glass or others?
FAQs
What does Google Glass do?
Google Glass was a wearable computer that could function as a hands-free smartphone, letting users access the mobile internet browser, camera, maps, calendar, and other apps by voice commands.
When was Google Glass launched?
Google Glass was launched for public retail on 15 May 2014. The early prototype version "Glass Explorers" was launched in the US in 2013.
How much money did Google Glass lose?
Google lost around $895 million on moonshot projects - Google Glass.
Why did Google Glass fail?
One of the biggest reason Why Google Glass failed is because it lacked the clarity on why the product exists. The designers did not clearly define or validate, what solutions Google Glass would give for its users, or how customers would use the glasses.
What were the main reasons for Google Glass failure?
The main reasons for Google Glass failure were the issues in the wearable device:
- Concerns over Health and Safety
- No clear Functioning
- Battery Issues
- Overprice
- Language Issues
- Heating Issues
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