Google Introduces Titanium Collection, 7 Frames With Prescription Lenses

It’s been an year since Google released Glass and now they’re introducing something many have anticipated: prescription lenses. The Google Glass Titanium Collection consists of seven styles of frames with prescription lenses. Six frames are more casual, while the other one, Active, is dedicated more to sports, making Glass a great companion for everyone.

The new frames are priced at $225, with prescription lenses included and are called: Classic, Curve, Split, Thin, Active, Bold and Edge. There’s also a presentation video released by Google along with the frames and you can watch it below. Later in this article you will also be able to see all the seven frames.

We believe this brings us closer to the customer edition Google Glass release date and the rumored price of $300 to $400 might be real, but it probably doesn’t include those frames, so you will have to rack in another $225 if you need them.

It seems like the frames have been designed by Google and they did a really good job with them. We were expecting them to outsource the frames to a specialized company.

The frames are made of titanium, which makes them very light and strong. This is probably why the price is pretty high. According to Isabelle Olsson, lead Glass designer, those are the styles that most people wear and more might come later.

Fortunately, the new frames work with your Google Glass device. Being a modular device, you can simply change your current frame with the new ones. But you have to note that the frames won’t work without Google Glass attached to them, because the right stem is too short, so they won’t sit comfortably on your head. This means that you can’t just toss your regular prescription glasses, because you need them while you charge your Google Glass. This is really unfortunate and we expected Google to do something about it. But there’s hope for a future iteration.

You should also know that the price doesn’t include prescription lenses. When you order your pair of frames, they will come with non-prescription lenses and you have to contact your optometrist for them. You can even order them if you don’t need prescription lenses, just for their design, if you afford to pay another $225 for that. The new frames look less geeky than the previous ones and they make Glass look much better.

The new frames make Glass look more like regular prescription glasses and less like an invasive recording device.

Below you can see the Active frames, which seem to be great for sports, like cycling. They are less casual, but you have to take a look at them if you’re much of a sporty person.

This proves once again that Google is really dedicated to Glass and we will probably get more goodies in the near future from the company. We already know that another update, the XE13 is due to be released in February, which should improve Glass’ software and maybe bring us more features.