Verizon's "Project Ironman" reportedly features 5G Motorola AR glasses

Xiaomi might be the first manufacturer to produce a phone powered by Qualcomm's rebranded Snapdragon application processor line, but Motorola has made it clear that it will be one of the first to offer a handset powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. According to Android Central, Motorola's head of customer experience, Ruben Castano, has already teased this development.

Castano said, "Motorola is leading the way with new premium experiences based on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform, bringing to market one of the first Snapdragon 8 smartphones via the edge family and a first-of-its-kind 5G wearable." Just the other day we told you that the candidate for the chip, at least from the Motorola camp, could be the Moto Edge 30 Ultra.

What do you get when you cross a Lenovo AR headset with a Motorola-designed, touchpad-bearing neckband -- all of it spearheaded by Verizon as a marquee use case for its 5G ultrawideband network? Meet "Project Ironman." pic.twitter.com/ZAe5LEekRp

— Ev (@evleaks) December 1, 2021

The Moto Edge 30 Ultra (which will reportedly be known as the Moto Edge X30 in China), is expected to carry top-shelf specs and premium quality. But wait, did Castano also tease Motorola's intention to deliver 5G AR smartglasses? Thanks to the miracle of instant "read-play," we can check out the last part of his statement in slow motion.

"...and  a  first-of-its-kind  5G  wearable." Well as it turns out, on Wednesday tipster Evan Blass focused his spotlight on Verizon's "Project Ironman" which apparently includes a Lenovo (Motorola's corporate parent) AR headset with a touchpad-sporting neckband designed by Motorola in conjunction with the nation's largest wireless carrier.

Castano added that Motorola's next Edge flagship phone will be introduced in a few days which might spread some more sunlight on this entire project including "Project Ironman."

If true, this would not be the first time that Motorola and Verizon teamed up on a game-changing device. In November 2009, both Verizon and Motorola were eager to build an iPhone killer. At the time, Apple's smartphone was exclusive to AT&T, and previous attempts by Verizon to at least match the iPhone failed miserably. In late 2008, Verizon thought that it had what it was looking for with the BlackBerry Storm.

When we say that the first touchscreen 'Berry was an unmitigated disaster, we are being too kind. This writer pre-ordered the device and it was even more of a hot mess than you've heard. The technology that was supposed to make pressing on the virtual QWERTY feel like you were typing on a physical keyboard was not complete. This mistake along with others (no Wi-Fi, for example) was corrected on the Storm 2, but by then it was too late.

The BlackBerry Storm 2 might have given Verizon a decent phone and it probably would have been its top touchscreen offering for 2009 had it not been for the Motorola DROID. Verizon, Google, and Motorola teamed up to develop the first Android 2.0 phone and it featured a 3.7-inch LCD display, slightly larger than the iPhone's 3.5-inch screen. It also had a physical keyboard that would slide out.

The DROID was an instant hit and Verizon customers finally had a phone on the same level as the iPhone. But the software stole the show as Android 2.0 included free turn-by-turn directions with Google Maps. At first, multitouch was not allowed (remember that Steve Jobs had mentioned how Apple had patented it during the unveiling of the OG iPhone) but later was added to the software.

To say that the Motorola DROID was a game-changer would be true. Android went from strength to strength and became the most widely used smartphone operating system in the world. While some of the players' names have changed, we once again have Motorola and Verizon teaming up on a possible game-changing new mobile device (albeit a wearable one this time) and we can't wait to see what happens.