Google is looking to take another crack at virtual reality, following up its budget Google Cardboard viewer with a higher quality smartphone-based head-mounted display, similar to the Samsung Gear VR.
According to the Financial Times, the Cardboard’s unpredictably high level of success has caused Google to put more effort into the VR space, with the tech giants looking to return in 2016 with a more powerful headset that will boast improved sensors and lenses, alongside a premium design. More than 5 million Google Cardboard units have been shipped since its launch in 2014, and 2016 will prove to be a formative year for the technology, with the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR set to release in the coming months.
However, whereas those three headsets offer a more high-end experience, the Gear VR has found itself a sizable audience by focusing upon delivering virtual reality via smartphone. While the Cardboard also utilized VR smartphone apps, it didn’t boast the quality of the Gear VR hardware, with this now being what Google is reportedly working towards. The device will also be compatible with many Android smartphones, unlike the Cardboard which only supported recent Galaxy models.
Google’s next VR headset is expected to be smartphone-based, similar to the Samsung Gear VR.
Many analysts have predicted that smartphone-based VR will take off more quickly than other VR headsets, thanks to their comparatively low level of expense and the relative ease in which developers can create supported software. While the jury’s still out on whether the likes of the Rift, Vive and PlayStation VR will live up to expectations, smartphone VR has quietly been growing in popularity, meaning that these predictions are shaping up to be correct. Google is justified in wanting to pursue VR, then, and while it may have more difficulty in selling a premium headset as opposed to the ultra-cheap Cardboard, it’s still a worthwhile avenue for the company to venture down given how virtual reality is becoming an increasingly hot topic.
Google is expected to unveil the new VR headset at its I/O developer conference in May, with it possibly launching in September, similar to the release schedule adopted by the company for its Nexus line of smartphone.
