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Google Glass has a new boss in the form of Tony Fadell, the founder of Nest.
The inventor of the Nest Learning Thermostat and former owner of the company Google bought almost precisely one year ago, will write the next chapter of the Glass story.
In announcing the appointment, Google also said it is closing down the Glass Explorer program, which has seen beta testers put the device through its paces over the last couple of years
Instead, Glass is moving out of the X Labs and has been given its own division within Google, which Fadell will lead.
The Verge reports, the current head of Google Glass, Ivy Ross, will still still run the show day-to-day, but she’ll now answer to Fadell.
Read more: Nest Protect review
The news suggests Google isn’t planning to give up on the Glass program any time soon, despite an extremely quiet second half of 2014 for the device.
Google is yet to officially place Glass on sale as a consumer product, so perhaps Fadell’s remit will be to work on taking the headgear to the masses?
It should also be said that bringing Glass under Fadell’s umbrella doesn’t mean it is merging with Nest. The Smart Home company will remain autonomous.
Before founding Nest, Fadell was an influential figure at Apple having played a major roll in the development of the iPod and iPhone.