According to a
source who spoke with TechCrunch, Google Wallet is coming to Google Glass. The idea is to enable users to send money to friends, family and others through Glass-based voice commands.
Last year at the Google developer conference, I/O, the company introduced the ability to send money through Gmail. It’s a simple, almost frictionless process. Square also offers a similar way (“Square Cash”) to send money to friends/family.
It’s not clear how many people are taking advantage of the send money feature in Gmail. Google hasn’t shared any data to my knowledge; and since I never hear about it I would guess the numbers are fairly low.
Devotees of Glass may appreciate the new capability. However Glass itself continues its bumpy rollout to a broader audience.
Google’s recent public sale of Glass apparently went well. But mainstream consumer interest in Glass remains very mixed or limited.
In March Google announced a partnership with Luxottica, which owns the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands. Those two brands will reportedly introduce Glass editions, offering hope for an expanded array of design choices and more mainstream appeal.
A recent tear-down analysis of Glass argued that its component parts cost less than $100, which created head-scratching over its more than $1,500 price tag. However Google has said that the “Glass Explorer Edition costs significantly more to produce.”
Google Wallet is Google’s stored credit card function. It’s NFC-based in-store payments capability has struggled and is little used today (though it may gain new life later on). Wallet also powers mobile e-commerce and Google Play, where it has been much more successful.
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