The Wall Street Journal has reported that the next release of Google Glass will feature an Intel chip, replacing the Texas Instruments processor used in the first Glass release.
Intel was late to the mobile market, with mobile makers choosing rival products based on tech licensed by ARM ahead of the company’s x86 chip. Intel does not want to repeat this mistake with the wearable technology market.
Intel has targeted wearbales with an ultra-small x86 processor called Quark, a tiny circuit board for wearable devices called Edison and a chip called SoFIA that combines a processor with cellular communications.
The details of what Intel chip Google is going to use for the latest Glass remains unclear, but according to the WSJ there will be an emphasis on power conservation. Representatives of Google, Intel and Texas Instruments declined to comment.
Kevin Spain, general partner of venture-capital firm Emergence Capital Partners, called Intel’s involvement "a positive signal, not just about Glass, but about the wearable category generally."
