Last month there were reports that Google could be planning on creating their own virtual reality hardware. This was based on recent job sightings that seemed to indicate that Google was interested in virtual reality beyond just providing schematics for a cardboard virtual reality headset, like the Google Cardboard.
Now it seems that the speculation has been “confirmed”, thanks to a report from the Financial Times (paywall; via Engadget) in which they revealed that their sources have told them that Google could be releasing their own VR headset later this year. The device isn’t so much a competitor to the Oculus Rift, but rather it is more like an open rival to Samsung’s Gear VR.
This means that users will be able to use their phones to semi-power the headset, whereas devices like the Oculus Rift already come with built-in displays and sensors. Now this might sound like Cardboard, but apparently this is supposed to be next-level stuff. The report goes on to claim that Google could be considering baking VR into Android itself.
This means that support easier, and will help deal with potential problems like lag, which is what causes motion sickness sometimes in such technology. In any case take it with a grain of salt, but Google I/O is taking place in May, so hopefully Google will have more to share with us then.
Filed in . Read more about Google, Virtual Reality (VR) and Wearable Tech.