Intel chips may be in the next Google Glass, report says

Intel is expected to supply the chips for a new version of Google’s Glass device in 2015, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.

The Intel processor will replace one from Texas Instruments used in the current version of Glass, a head-mounted device that lets people view the Internet or take pictures while keeping their hands free. Intel hasn’t commented yet.

The Wall Street Journal said that Intel plans to promote Glass to hospital networks and manufacturers. Google launched the web-connected eyewear in 2012, but it carried a hefty price and was regarded as something that only nerds would wear.

Intel’s chips are mostly used in personal computers and servers in data centers, but the company has targeted the tablet and wearable markets for new power-efficient versions of its x86-based processors. It competes with rivals such as ARM and Texas Instruments. Under new chief executive Brian Krzanich, Intel has talked about a tiny x86 processor dubbed Quark and a circuit board for wearable devices dubbed Edison. The possibility of Intel in the next version of Glass suggests that Google is working on making the processing power of the wearable as good as that of some computers.