Standalone Google ‘Android VR’ Headset Rumored To Launch At I/O 2016

There have been whispers that Google will soon launch a standalone virtual reality headset and if a new rumor is to be believed, the company is going to launch it at its I/O 2016 developers conference later this month. We did talk about this in what to expect from Google I/O 2016 and it appears that this just might happen. Google’s current offering is a simple VR viewer called Google Cardboard which it has now started selling in a handful of countries across the globe.

This bit of information comes from Peter Rojas, the man who co-founded tech blog Engadget, he tweeted earlier today that Google will launch the “Android VR’ platform at I/O 2016 alongside a standalone virtual reality headset which will be less powerful than the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, but will be better than the Samsung Gear VR.

Android VR is not what Google might end up calling the headset because it appears to be the moniker for the VR platform that Google is developing. If it does decide to call the headset Android VR it would be the first time that Google uses the Android name with a physical product that it sells directly, the Android name has only ever been associated with platforms on which devices are created, think Android itself, Android Wear, and Android TV.

No information has been provided on how soon this VR headset will be available if it’s announced at I/O 2016 and how much it will cost.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Android VR, Gear VR, Google, Google i/o 2016, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Virtual Reality (VR)