Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Technology
Technology

Getting Updated: Google Glass to Get Android KitKat

Posted byBy Leo | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

google-glass-update

Google is gearing up for its biggest Glass update yet.

The smartglasses are finally getting an upgrade to Android KitKat, the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, as Google moves toward bigger, but less frequent Glass updates, according to a private forum posting unearthed by Android Police.

Responding to the delay of the February Glass update, which was already delayed from January, Google employee Teresa Z. admitted that the update simply wasn’t ready.

“I know this might be a disappointment to some of you,” she wrote. “But it’s all part of the Explorer program. We’re trying a lot of things. Most of them work out great, and some of them need a little more polish. In this case, we’d rather wait to get it right, than release something that isn’t up to snuff.”

But while the Googler didn’t offer any details when the update would finally land, she gave Glass Explorers (the name for the early Glass testers) a big update to look forward to: Android KitKat, which should bring with it things like Bluetooth 4.0 and additional power-saving features. Teresa Z. notes that KitKat should make the overall Glass experience smoother, as well as make it easier to update for developers.

Google has pushed around eight big Glass updates since the Explorer program launched less than a year ago, which is a surprisingly steady pace given how slow it takes to get Android updates out. But now that Glass is maturing, and Google is getting ready for a consumer release, it makes sense for the company to slow down the rapid-fire updates. It’s far more important that those updates actually matter.

Source: venturebeat.com

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top