Intel to power next version of Google Glass

Chipmaker Intel will be supplying the intelligent innards for the next iteration of Google Glass, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The next version of Google's high-tech specs is expected to emerge next year, and will no longer incorporate a processor from Texas Instruments, said "people familiar with the matter".

There's no word from either company on what chip will be used instead, but it seems likely that Intel's Edison chip, designed specifically for wearables, has caught Google's eye.

Intel has been busy trying to reverse the damage that was done when it didn't jump on board with mobile quickly enough and lost out to other chip manufacturers in the process. Wearables is a big focus for the company at the moment. In a briefing WIRED.co.uk attended last month, Intel's general manager Mike Bell said that it was the company's intention to "get our technology into every wearable device on the planet".

As one of the best-known examples of wearable technology, Google Glass is not just a decent challenge for Intel to get stuck into in order to prove Edison's potential, but a great opportunity to publicise the desirability and flexibility of the chip. Intel is continually working on the chip and Edison development platform, and is specifically looking at how to increase battery efficiency -- an issue Google is also trying to counter in its next iteration of Glass.

Intel's attitude to Edison, wearables and the internet of things is to remain relevant across the board by not hedging bets on one device or platform. "I'm not sure that in this space there's going to be one device that's going to be an end to all," Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said recently.

-wired.co.uk