To borrow a line from R.E.M., it’s the end of Glass as we know it.

Google has announced the end of the Glass Explorer program, and says it’s done selling the existing version of Glass. So all of the “Glass is dead” headlines you’ll see this week are only half-true. The current version of Glass may be dead, but Google says it’s not the end of the road for Glass at all:

We’re closing the Explorer Program so we can focus on what’s coming next. January 19 will be the last day to get the Glass Explorer Edition. In the meantime, we’re continuing to build for the future, and you’ll start to see future versions of Glass when they’re ready. (For now, no peeking.)

In a nutshell, Google is taking Glass development in house. The public Explorer program, where we all got to see Glass — and its warts — is over, and Google is done letting the world watch it give birth to a new product. Design lead Isabelle Olsson talked about the challenge of building a new product this way in a recent interview:

It’s easy to forget how long it actually takes to make this, but we show that process to the world. We took this stance that we wanted to design this with the world because it is so new and so innovative. That also exposes the real time it takes to take a product to market. Most [companies] do this behind closed doors for seven to 10 years.

Not only is Glass development going behind closed doors, Google is also reorganizing its place in the company’s structure. Glass is moving out of the Google[X] labs and Google is making Glass its own division. Ivy Ross will still be in charge, but Google says she’s now reporting to Nest’s Tony Fadell.

Glass At Work

Perhaps the most important news of all is that today’s news has no impact on the Glass At Work program. Google says that will continue as is, and businesses can continue to buy and adopt the existing version of Glass as they’ve been doing.

Indeed, this is where Glass has shined in its first 20 months in the public eye. Glass has been a huge hit in the healthcare industry, and numerous schools and educators are also learning what Glass can do in the classroom. It’s important to Glass’ development that this door remains open.

Your Reaction?

We’d like to know your thoughts on today’s news. I began this article by quoting part of an R.E.M. lyric — it’s the end of Glass as we know it. The actual song lyric is “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”

Do you feel fine? Is this a positive or negative for Glass? Vote in our new poll, and we’ll report the results soon.

The Glass Explorer program is ending. Is this a positive or negative for Glass?