Following the $2 billion acquisition of Facebook on Oculus VR, Google is reportedly working to bring virtual reality to Android apps to avoid being left out.
Two sources who are familiar with the project told The Wall Street Journal that the search giant has pooled engineers to build another version of Android that can run virtual reality apps. The new version will be free to use, similar to its original version. Android currently has four versions which are running on smartphones, wearable devices, televisions, and cars.
The virtual reality for Android apps project is led by VP for product management Clay Bavor and director of engineering Jeremy Doig.
The sources added that Google has been preparing for this new project since last year. It invested $542 million in the start-up company Magic Leap Inc. that develops eyeglass-like devices that can display virtual reality images. The company also formed a team to test a tablet that uses multiple cameras for the same purpose.
If Google pull this off, the company will be the first to offer virtual reality devices and will definitely revolutionize smartphone gaming. But Google is not the only company intending to release virtual reality devices, Sony has Morpheus, which will be paired with its PlayStation 4, Samsung joined Oculus for its Gear VR headset, and Microsoft has the HoloLens project.
Microsoft said that it plans to release Morpheus by the first half of 2016, according to The Financial Times. Samsung is releasing the development kit by the end of this year, while Microsoft said it will launch HoloLens along with Windows 10 also later this year. Google’s virtual reality Android, on the other hand, has no release date yet.
A Google spokesperson refused to comment on the virtual reality project.
