While Valve, HTC and others are already in the thick of things with their VR headsets for gaming applications, Silicon Valley is already buzzing. The big tech companies Google, Apple and Facebook now also want to launch headsets that will enable immersion in virtual reality. Facebook has already laid the foundation with the purchase of Oculus and is currently working hard on the Metaverse. But apparently Google is by no means idle either. The search engine giant wants to focus more on augmented reality than on virtual reality. If the rumors are to be believed, the so-called “Project Iris” could be an uncompromising further development of the failed Google Glasses.
Google is swimming against the tide
The number of VR glasses available on the market is steadily increasing. Thanks to Apple, we are likely to see another new launch in the VR headset space before the end of the year. But one tech giant seems to want to go a slightly different way. Apparently, Google sees its chances more in the field of augmented reality. The experts from The Verge report this with reference to two people who were involved in the development of Google’s upcoming headset. If the insider information is true, the first big mystery about Google’s upcoming headset will be solved. It will not be a VR headset, but an AR headset.
First test model comes along wirelessly
Google doesn’t seem to be too far away from announcing its upcoming AR glasses. After all, insiders go on to report that initial tests are already taking place at the moment. The test candidates report a headset with a look reminiscent of classic ski goggles. Of course, not much is known about the technology yet. There are supposed to be cameras on the outside of the headset, which are supposed to enable augmented reality effects. The heart of the whole thing is supposed to be a processor, which Google wants to have developed in-house. The fact that the test devices do not need an active power connection sounds exciting. We can also speculate about the headset’s release. The search engine giant itself has set the goal of reaching market maturity in 2024 and launching its own AR glasses.
Maximum battery power through cloud technology?
As mentioned earlier, the Google headset should be able to operate without an active power connection. The tech company wants to achieve this not only through an energy-efficient processor as well as a large battery. On top of that, the company relies on the so-called “remote rendering”. The applications are supposed to be outsourced to servers when the Internet connection is active. This should keep the computing load for the processor itself as low as possible and extend the battery runtime.
