This update is the last you’ll see of Google Glass Explorer Edition

Google has announced one final update before it pulls the plug on the Explorer Edition of Google Glass.

The update will disconnect users’ Google accounts from the hardware and remove any connection to Google’s backend services.

While it may sound counter intuitive to push the update to remove features from the device, it could actually be crucial to keeping the glasses running once Google cuts its support.

Bluetooth functionality means users will still be able to pair their Glass with their phone and use the camera and sideloaded apps but Mirror apps, including Gmail, YouTube and Hangouts, will no longer be compatible. The MyGlass app will also cease to function.

Google will end support on February 25 2020 so Glass users will want to jump on this update before this date to keep their devices running smoothly.

Upon visiting Google’s support page, users will be required to download a signed image file, unzip the file and manually run several commands to install the update correctly.

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Glass Explorer Edition was the first iteration of the company’s AR smart glasses to be released and the last to be sold to consumers in 2013 – albeit to a very small number of them.

Explorer Edition was made available to just a select number of users at launch – including Google I/O developers and a number of lucky Twitter users – for $1,500 before being pulled off shelves in 2015 and replacing the wearable with an enterprise-focused device.

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While Google appears to have had significantly more success with the Enterprise version, even going to far as to release a second version of the business-targeted smart glasses, the fate of Explorer Edition had been left in the dark for quite some time.

It seems Google has decided to put the final nail in the coffin for its pioneering pair of smart glasses with this last update.

While Google will cut support for Glass Explorer Edition early next year, users will have until February 2022 to install the update. These changes will not affect Glass Enterprise users.

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