The Google Advanced Technology and Projects division, more commonly referred to as ATAP, has been responsible for a handful of eye-catching showstoppers with the Soli radio system and the wardrobe-focused Jacquard being two of them. Both were announced in 2015 and reached the markets a couple of years later, with Jacquard giving us some of the most unexpected collaborations, including with apparel maker Levi’s and luxury fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent — the former bringing us some trendy smart tracker-equipped jackets, while Adidas launched Jacquard tags meant for the insoles of soccer cleats. But after staying relatively quiet since these partnerships — barring the 2019 release of two new Jacquard/Levi’s jackets — it looks like the end is near for the project and the corresponding companion app.
The latest iteration of the Jacquard app for Android pretty much spells out the end for the project. Even if you don’t have the app, it doesn’t appear to be a secret with the What’s new section on the Play Store stating as much:
This release adds the ability to inform users of updates to product support in the future.
Moreover, opening the app with the internet disabled returns the page pictured below, while 9to5Google found end-of-life references, including a header of AppShutdown, within the app’s code. All of this points towards an imminent announcement from Google on the death of Jacquard.
It’s not fully clear what’s going to happen to customers who bought Jacquard-supported jackets or backpacks as the companion app goes to pasture. One Jacquard product, the aforementioned Adidas smart in-sole for athletes, has a separate app which was updated a month ago, but even its future is now uncertain following this revelation.
Project Jacquard, though less creepy than Google Glass, probably had about as much appeal to the buying public. The feature set was half-decent, including the ability to be notified by the jacket when you leave your phone behind or control music on the phone by making a gesture on the jacket. But it seems like Jacquard hasn’t caught fire the way some have wanted to and it doesn’t help that Google has been in a cutting mood lately on anything that isn’t AI, like with Stadia.
