To avoid the awkwardness that doomed the Google Glass, Intel took the subtle approach by cramming a retinal laser projector -- along with all the other electronic bits, somehow -- into the Vaunt's ordinary-looking spectacle frame; plus there was no camera on it. The low-power projector would beam a red, monochrome 400 x 150 pixel image into the lower right corner of one's visual field, thus eliminating the need of a protruding display medium.

The Verge added that the projection was designed to be non-intrusive, such that it was only visible if you glanced in that direction. Of course, this would limit the amount of detail that could be shown to the user, but it could still deliver basic notifications, text messages and navigation info.

It's unclear how Intel's withdrawal from the smart glasses market will affect the industry as a whole, but it does mean we're still some time away from seeing something just as impressively stealthy. Meanwhile, other tech giants like Amazon and Apple are still working hard on their own take on smart glasses, so here's hoping these will be worth the wait.

The following is the full Intel statement sent to Engadget: