New job listings hint at Google building its own VR hardware
That’s because a series of job postings hint that Google may be building its own VR hardware, which would give consumers an alternative to Samsung’s Gear VR or the Oculus Rift.
Google is a big fan of virtual reality, bringing it to the masses with its Google Cardboard. But discussions with multiple hardware vendors at CES found a common theme: Cardboard’s broad availability made it worth supporting, but it won’t match the same type of experience as a true VR-crafted hardware.
Google has shown with its Pixel C and collaboration with other vendors on its Nexus phones it can craft good hardware. Much like it did in the initial days of Android, it may want to give this new technology a hardware boost by getting involved directly.
The story behind the story: Google recently did some shuffling internally to create a virtual reality division, and now it looks like the company wants to fill up the ranks. Perhaps we’ll see more light shed on this at Google I/O this year, which will be held outdoors at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. This leads us to believe that VR and the company’s ambitions into 360-degree photography may be on full display.