Farewell, Google Clips

Update: Google has confirmed that it will be discontinuing the device. The company tells TechCrunch,

Starting with Pixel 3, we integrated Clips technology into the Photobooth feature, which helps users capture images when everyone is looking at the camera, smiling, or even puckering up for a kiss. These were all features we first rolled out in Clips, and we’ve been excited to see the technology and use case expand. Clips users will continue to get support until December 2021. We will not release any updates to devices after that. Photobooth on Pixel devices will continue to be the best place to test out Google’s AI-backed camera features.

Amid a slew of updated hardware, Clips has gone missing from Google’s online store. Odds are you probably don’t remember what Clips is. If you do, odds are you’re not surprised by this turn of events.

We’ve reached out to the company to confirm whether this is, indeed, definitively the end for the niche device. All I can say for now is that the future doesn’t look bright for a product neither reviewers, consumers nor Google itself figured out — one the company knew for sure was unequivocally not a life-logging camera. The answer of what it was, however, was a far more difficult one.

The device was a kind of showcase for the company’s AI technologies, designed to capture candid life moments so users weren’t stuck behind their cameras. I reviewed it and, if nothing else, got this fun GIF of my rabbit, Lucy:

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So not a total loss, I guess. Certainly not enough to justify paying $249, however. One colleague jokingly asking me ahead of this week’s Pixel event whether a Clips 2 was on the way. I suppose we know the answer now. SensorTower notes in an email to TechCrunch that it estimates around 15,000 installs for the Clips app, which should offer some context for fairly dismal sales figures. 

The discovery follows news that the company has discontinued its Daydream View VR headset. Such is the Google circle of life. The lukewarmly reviewed first-gen Pixel Buds have been pulled from the store, as well. That line, at least, still has a future.Â