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Nest’s Tony Fadell says Google has 'no sacred cows' as it rethinks Glass

Nest’s Tony Fadell says Google has 'no sacred cows' as it rethinks Glass

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Google ended its Glass Explorer program in January, leading many to believe the ambitious face-mounted computer project was shelved for good. But rumors of Glass' death were apparently premature — instead of being wound up, Glass "graduated" from the experimental Google X department to become its own independent division, headed by Nest CEO Tony Fadell. Now, in his first public comments since being put in charge of Glass, the ex-Apple exec has indicated the future for the wearable, stating that Google will "have no sacred cows" as it begins a rethink of the project.

Eric Schmidt said Glass is "a fundamental platform for Google."

Speaking at the Google Zeitgeist conference in the UK, Fadell said that he and his team have "decided to go and look at every detail" in order to "figure out the way forward" for Glass. Google has been relatively quiet on the topic in the months since the Explorer program closed, but executive chairman Eric Schmidt addressed the issue in March, saying that it wasn't true that the Glass project was canceled. According to Schmidt, Glass remains a "big and very fundamental platform for Google," and was put under the control of Fadell to "make it ready" for users.

In addition to control of the Glass project, Fadell still acts as Nest CEO, staying in the role after Google bought the home automation company for $3.2 billion in January 2014. When asked at Google Zeitgeist about how the two companies are organized, Fadell said his company still retained independence within its new owners. "We have our own offices, we have our brand, we have our own policies and our own management team," he explained. "We have all the things we want to have as independent, but where there are operational synergies, we're allowed to pick and choose."