Google’s virtual reality efforts right now pretty much just consists of the Google Cardboard, whose design they have licensed out to third-party companies who are offering up more colorful and fancy-look variants. However there have been rumors to suggest that Google could launch a standalone headset, and now those rumors appear to have been all but confirmed.
According to the folks at Android Police, they have spotted within the Google Play Developer Console a new icon and words that say, “Android VR” (to the far right, next to the Android Auto icon). This confirms that “Android VR” is real which also corroborates our earlier report which cites Engadget’s co-founder Peter Rojas who had initially revealed the name.
Now we should probably tread carefully here because for starters all we have is a name. Given that Android VR is listed next to other platforms like Android Wear, Android Auto, and Android TV, for all we know Android VR will merely exist as a virtual reality platform for developers to help develop content for the likes of the Google Cardboard.
There is nothing, save for the rumors, to indicate that it is a standalone headset. In any case Google I/O appears to be pretty VR-focused this year so maybe a VR headset is in the cards. Either way check back with us during the event for all the official details (and then some).
Filed in . Read more about Android, Google and Virtual Reality (VR).