Google Glass, the futuristic wearable product from the Mountain View company, has been all the rage among the tech community. But, with an astronomical entry cost of 1500$ and a limited invite-only model, it is extremely clear that it is not ready for the market. But in the future, it will be ready, but what will be its approximate cost? We can not know now, due to the rapid commoditization of technology, but we can surely get an idea of what it costs Google to make the current version of Glass, thanks to a teardown by the popular site going by the same name. It estimates the total cost of the “Bill of materials” to under 80$ for Google.
Shocked? Well, don’t be. The Google Glass, although a marvelous effort of engineering, uses components that are already in use, in mobile phones. Like a camera unit, a Texas Instruments processor with Bluetooth and GPS, and even the common RAM modules. Breaking down these costs is easy, and it mounts to an exact 79.78$, as explained in this image –
The first question that will pop into your head is, why the heck does Google charge so much for Glass? Well, there is this component called R&D, which, in addition to manufacturing costs for a limited set of devices is so high, we can’t even imagine. It’s not like one can build it with off the shelf components either, so there’s that, and there is also the fact that Glass is currently a non-commercial product. It was available for anyone to buy, only for one day, and it’s usually reserved for testers in various fields, so that Glass can get a better meaning to its usage before hitting the mainstream. It is far from finished, and beta testing comes with its own costs. So, before you cry foul, consider that, and also consider the fact that this means the consumer version of Glass has all the possibilities to be really cheap.
It may retail with price tags similar to Google’s Nexus devices, which are known to be value for money products. So, there is a silver lining for all of us enthusiasts waiting for the consumer version.
Source Teardown