In case you wondered why nobody has heard much exciting news about the hyped Google Glass since the beginning of the year, Reuters has a more clearer picture on the Glass project: journalists are talking abut a Google Glass demise, in the sense that very few people are still working on the project as we speak, whereas other rumors talk about the delay of the Google Glass consumer version release.

What happened and how come are we talking about a Google Glass demise? Earlier this year, after the “Explorers” tested the smartglasses, a developers’ edition became available for purchase for the rather breathtaking price of $1,500. Next, we heard about the “The Glass Collective,” a joint – venture ready and willing to fund apps for the Glass and then we heard that a consumer’s version was finally planned for late 2014.

If you remember correctly, the tech media was high as a kite back then, generating debates related to potential mischievous  uses of the Glass, futuristic benefits in the field of medicine and science and social dynamics modifications intimately linked with people wearing the Glass in the middle of the day in public.

According to Reuters, this was all too much ado about nothing, as unconfirmed rumors are drawing a sad painting: 9 of the 16 app developers for the Glass started their own projects and abandoned this one or simply moved on to other positions; three of the key – staff members working on the Google Glass project left the company entirely, and this year’s Google I/O developer conference almost skipped the Glass altogether

Reuters talked to various sources, engineers and developers, wondering about this alleged Google Glass demise and the answer they received was that there was no market for this product yet, and given its limitations and its low level of consumer demand, the project would be most likely postponed for 2015.

On the other side of the fence, Google says the project is still developing and going further. Nine of sixteen developers and three out of hundreds of employees means nothing. According to the company, moreover, there are tens of thousands people who currently use the Glass as we speak, in the consumer pilot program. When contacted, Chris O’Neill, Glass Head of Business Operations said that

We are as committed as ever to a consumer launch. That is going to take time and we are not going to launch this product until it’s absolutely ready.

With fewer and fewer developers and a general feeling that the Google Glass is still just an experiment with no connections to reality, the tech world is now expecting an official release date, which doesn’t seem to arrive any time soon. In the meanwhile, Google is testing the program Glass at Work, to see if the device can be useful to some industries and businesses. Taco Bell, KFC and Boeing seem to have enlisted in this program.

We also heard some people sell the Glass on eBay and that Google itself sells the device in bulk, at a two – for – one package. Whether these are the early signs of the Google Glass demise, we don’t know, but we can stay tuned to the news!