Google reportedly pulled the plug on AR glasses which were in development for several years to focus on developing a software platform for the technology to be deployed on third-party hardware.

The Insider reported the product was known as Google Iris but will not see the light of day as the company continues a trend of giving up on smart glass products.

This was the case with Google Glass, which the company dropped as a consumer proposition in 2015 and then abandoned a related enterprise play earlier this year.

The Insider reported the decision to kill-off Iris was prompted by lay-offs and internal reshuffles, along with the recent departure of the company’s head of AR and VR, Clay Bavor.

Details of Google Iris were revealed by The Verge in early 2022, which reported the vendor was working on a pair of AR products.

The Verge reported the second device is similar to a pair of ski goggles: The Insider tipped the wearable as a potential rival to Apple’s recently-unveiled Vision Pro.

However, Google is apparently placing a bigger bet on developing AR software, with hopes its platform is deployed in other headsets as the segment gains more traction.