Last month, in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm, which is "a new operating system built for this next generation of computing". Now, , HTC Vive of course having ample experience engineering VR headsets.
Google says this handover of engineers is "subject to customary closing conditions" and emphasises that they are "an incredibly strong technical team with a proven track record in the VR space, and we are looking forward to working with them to accelerate the development of the Android XR platform across the headsets and glasses ecosystem."
Plus, you know, all the usual 'watch videos on a giant screen that's not really there' business—which I'd love to hate but can't help but quietly covet.
Google's not a stranger to the industry, although it's been a decade since its first attempt at smart glasses was abandoned, and its later Google Glass reboot . Hype for XR—especially for AR—does seem to be hotting up, after all, with projects like offering a glimpse of an increasingly digitally enmeshed future.
Though with Android XR it's teaming up with Samsung for what is our first glimpse of actual hardware. is the name, and XR is the game.
With Android XR, all signs point to Google looking to compete with Meta on on the XR ecosystem front.
Meta's Horizon VR operating system is included on its Quest headsets, such as the . Though that's all changing soon. Soon it will be available to third parties—it looks like .
Much in the same way that different Android device manufacturers must cede to the Google Play Store, Meta Horizon becoming the default OS for third-party VR and MR headsets and glasses could mean such device manufacturers needing to cede to a Horizon OS store.
: which kit should you choose?
: you need serious GPU power for VR
: don't get tied to your desktop in VR
In other words, it's possible that Meta could become rummy golds to the VR ecosystem what Google is to the Android ecosystem, and Horizon being open to third-party devices is a step in this direction.
It's powerful to have your store at the centre of the "next computing platform", if that is how you feel about mixed reality. Meta definitely feels this way, .
Google might be pushing along similar lines here, hoping to compete in the VR OS/store ecosystem space. Talk of a "vibrant ecosystem of developers and device makers" certainly leans in this direction, as does Android XR's partnership with Qualcomm in particular—standalone VR headsets tend to use Arm chips such as Snapdragons from Qualcomm.
Who knows, maybe the next few years will see Meta and Google vying for proprietary ecosystem adoption across the VR space. Interesting times ahead.