Google AR & VR

Google’s platform for mobile augmented reality is available on 1.2 billion Android devices today. At I/O 2022, ARCore is getting foundational improvements to make it work faster and more reliably on the Pixel 6 and in Google Maps Live View. 

To close out I/O 2022, Sundar Pichai very surprisingly previewed Google’s upcoming augmented reality efforts for glasses, starting with AR language translation.

Following rumors, Google announced today that it has acquired microLED startup Raxium to join the Devices & Services team.

Google is actively developing an operating system for AR hardware, and a deal to acquire microLED startup Raxium continues that work.

In recent years, Google has pretty much shut down most of its earlier virtual reality efforts. However, it still owns VR game studio Owlchemy Labs, which is launching Cosmonious High later this month.

Back in September, we spotted that Google was developing an “Augmented Reality OS” for an “innovative AR device.” A new report today reveals that Google is working on an AR headset with “Project Iris.”

In recent years, Google has notoriously kept its work on augmented reality hardware secret. That has started to change recently, while a new report today provides explicit confirmation that “Google is working on a new iteration of smart glasses.”

Compared to Apple and Facebook, Google has been very quiet about its plans for augmented reality glasses. That’s starting to change as Google is actively hiring to create an “Augmented Reality OS” for an unspecified “innovative AR device.”

At I/O 2021 in May, Google unveiled Project Starline has a conferencing booth that can capture and display realistic 3D video. The company today shared more technical details about the effort and how it surpasses 2D calls. 

Compared to Meta, Microsoft, Niantic, and a slew of other metaverse announcements, Google has been very quiet about its augmented reality plans in general. In a recent interview, Sundar Pichai gave his thoughts on the metaverse, but positioned Google’s future as a continuation of the core Search mission.

An internal Google reorganization sees the company create a new group to oversee “high-potential, long-term projects.” Overseen by Clay Bavor, Google Labs includes AR & VR and Area 120.

Ever since Mark Zuckerberg showed off Facebook’s – now Meta’s –  vision for the future of technology and social interaction, I’ve been trying to imagine what the Google equivalent would be. I’ve concluded that such a metaverse direction is a direct contradiction to Google’s modern vision of tech that assists.

During the Alphabet Q3 2021 earnings call, Sundar Pichai was asked about augmented reality and the CEO shared some brief thoughts about what Google is working on in the AR area.

Google sharing some details on Tensor, its “first custom-built SoC,” was as important as today’s tease of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. In an interview, Rick Osterloh was asked about Google Tensor in the context of AR, and the hardware boss shared some rare thoughts on smart glasses.

In May 2017, amid a big virtual reality push, Google announced that it acquired Owlchemy Labs. Known for Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, Owlchemy shared today that it’s making a new VR game.

In March, Google Maps AR navigation was updated to work inside complex buildings. After launching in some US malls, Google is expanding Indoor Live View to transit stations in Japan. 

Google’s biggest consumer-facing augmented reality offerings today are Lens and Live View in Maps. At WWDC 2021, Apple announced it was planning to go after those two features with iOS 15 this fall.

Google at I/O 2021 touted that it’s the only mapping platform with AR navigation. Building on that lead, Google Live View can soon be accessed without needing to get directions and just be used to explore the world with augmented reality. 

Over the past few years, Google Search has added 3D models for various animals, dinosaurs, insects, planets, and other education items. Google is now introducing AR Pac-Man, 3D Hello Kitty, and Gundam with 14 iconic Japanese characters in total. 

Google has announced that Maps will now offer indoor AR directions and can even favor eco-friendly navigation when pointing you from location to location.

From Maps Live View to 3D Animals and other models in Search, Google’s current work in augmented reality is focused on phones. The other big investment is Google Lens, with it emerging today that the product is losing lead Aparna Chennapragada to Robinhood.