Google Glass

Google Glass is a textbook example of hype crashing into reality: a $1,500 smart glass that turned wearers into social pariahs. Launched in 2013 with techno-utopian buzz, the Explorer Edition was banned from bars and coined the derogatory term "Glassholes." Within two years, the product was dead, failing to attract even niche users. Google pivoted to enterprise, effectively hiding a flop in witness protection. The device's camera made privacy a dealbreaker, unlike Meta's Metaverse which failed on graphical quality instead. Internal data showed fewer than 100,000 units sold.