Smart watches have already begun to appear, and it doesn’t seem that consumers are as excited for the devices as manufacturers had expected. Already, though, the tech industry is preparing to follow Google into the next unproven gadget market.

The Wall Street Journal this week reported that Microsoft is now testing out prototypes for eyewear similar to Google Glass. The report’s unnamed “people familiar with the matter” stated that Microsoft is shopping around component manufacturers known to make hardware for such wearable devices. The sources also emphasized that Microsoft is simply in the testing phase, and that their wearable displays might never reach the consumer market.

This news comes less than a month after Samsung was also rumored to be working on a Glass-type device. The so-called “Gear Glass” could appear as soon at next spring.

Microsoft’s project seems to be further behind than Samsung’s, though the Journal report states that Microsoft is “determined” not to come in late to the wearable computing market the way it has with the smartphone and tablet markets. The report also points out that Microsoft could be well-positioned in the wearable computing market, with over 170 attained or pending patents for head-mounted display technology.

Google is expected to debut a redesigned Glass for the consumer market sometime in 2014.