It looks like Google is starting to really ramp up things with Google Glass. Not only have they begun reaching out to developers in waves and shipping out Glass to those who pre-ordered (we did) but they’ve also just issued the very first software update for Glass. Well, the first since it has been in the hands of regular developers.
It’s been a good few days for Glass. With details about a Twitter app, Facebook, YouTube uploading and more all being heavily developed already. Things are just getting off the ground, and on our faces, and things will only be getting better next week. What’s next week? Google I/O where surely we’ll learn a lot more about Google’s plan and Glass’ future.
So, today Google Glass is getting updated from XE4 to XE5 (XE=Explorer Edition) and the new and improved software version for Glass is bringing tons of improvements. This means you’ll have a better experience out of the box when you get your own if you’ve pre-ordered. A few important bits are G+ notifications, incoming G+ hangout notifications, improved battery life and stats, and much more. Here’s the full changelog posted by Phandroid.
• Change to sync policy: require power + wifi for background uploads
• Crash reporting
• Incoming G+ notifications (direct shares, comments, +mentions), including ability to comment and +1
• Incoming Hangout notifications
• Transcription of queries & messages is now wicked-fast
• Long-press to search from anywhere in the UI (no longer just from off)
• International number dialing + SMS
• Hop animation on disallowed swipes in the UI
• New On-Head Detection calibration flow
• Show device Serial Number on Device Info card
• More reliable estimation of battery charge remaining
• New recipient-list mosaic
Glass will now quickly throw up G+ mentions, or incoming Hangout notifications quickly and easily right in your eye, then you can simply choose to ignore or accept. Then of course either reply using voice, or enjoy a little Hangout and let the other end see what you see, all with Glass. Then voice recognition is even faster than before, which was already awesome. We’re not sure what all was changed for better battery life and a more reliable estimation of charge remaining, but it looks like instant upload was disabled from what we’re hearing.
Glass will continue to trickle into users hands over the next week or so, and be prepared for the onslaught of news as Google I/O kicks off next week. And of course, we’ll be there live with all the details.
[via SlashGear]
