Google Glass is getting Android KitKat, but monthly updates are no more

Google is gearing up for its biggest Glass update yet.

The smartglasses are finally getting an upgrade to Android KitKat, the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, as Google moves towards bigger but less frequent Glass updates, according to a private forum posting unearthed by Android Police.

Responding to the delay of the February Glass update, which was already delayed from January, Google employee Teresa Z. admitted that the update simply wasn’t ready.

“I know this might be a disappointment to some of you,” she wrote. “But it’s all part of the Explorer program. We’re trying a lot of things. Most of them work out great, and some of them need a little more polish. In this case, we’d rather wait to get it right, than release something that isn’t up to snuff.”

While the Googler didn’t offer any details about when the update would finally land, she gave Glass Explorers (the name for early Glass testers) a big update to look forward to: Android KitKat, which should bring with it things like Bluetooth 4.0 and additional power-saving features. Teresa Z. notes that KitKat should make the overall Glass experience smoother, as well as make it easier to update for developers.

Google has pushed out about eight big Glass updates since the Explorer program launched less than a year ago, which is a surprisingly steady pace given how long it takes to get Android updates out. But now that Glass is maturing and Google is getting ready for a consumer release, it makes sense for the company to slow down the rapid-fire updates. It’s far more important that those updates actually matter.