Although Meta is the most vocal company when developments related to the metaverse are in the news, Apple is also reported to be quietly working on an headset that will combine both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). If Apple is ahead…can Google be far behind? Well, anonymous sources say that Google is also working on developing an AR headset under a project called Project Iris.
Web 3.0 or the metaverse is the New Tech In Town and Big Tech is joining the band. Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Apple and Google are developing headsets to meet the future demands of the metaverse, which combines virtual reality and augmented reality.
Two people familiar with Project Iris, who wish to remain anonymous as they do not have permission to speak about the project, told The Verge that the search giant is looking to ship an AR headset in 2024. They also provided details including the use of outward facing cameras instead of those that are used in existing AR glasses by Snap and Magic Leap.
The tech giant has begun working on a prototype and the headset currently looks like a pair of goggles, according to the source. There are about 300 people working at a facility in the Bay Area. The building in San Francisco requires special key card entry. The project is headed by Clay Bavor. He reports directly to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Bavor has been in the forefront of Google’s foray into AR and VR from years, right from Google Cardboard and Daydream. He has been given the title of Vice President of Labs and Pichai had said that the Labs team would work on “high-potential long term projects.”
Meta has openly said that it expects to be a major player in the metaverse. It changed its name from Facebook to Meta to show its enhanced interest. Microsoft has been quietly developing its interests in gaming and the metaverse with acquisitions and more. Apple has always been developing its own interests, quietly, though there are a whole bunch of analysts who speculate and write about Apple’s upcoming projects. Finally, there is word from Google, though it is through anonymous sources, that the giant search company is also planning to be a major player in AR and VR.
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