The Google Glass team will reportedly break from the Google X research lab to instead start reporting to Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest, the smart thermostat company Google bought last year for $3.2 billion, Fortune's Adam Lashinsky reports.
Fadell, known for leading production of Apple's first iPod, will advise Glass's current leader, Ivy Ross, while still juggling all his responsibilities at Nest.
Google Glass has had a tough reception. The $1,500 device still hasn't taken off, in part because of its limited release and lack of practical uses. Google will stop selling its initial version of Glass on January 19 and plans to release a new version before the end of the year.
Glass was the first project ever to emerge from Google X — and one particularly important to Google cofounder Sergey Brin, who runs it — so the team's departure from the lab is even more significant. Fadell's new role suggests that Brin and CEO Larry Page put a lot of trust in him.
