Facebook has already began accepting pre-orders for its virtual reality console Oculus Rift, and the device will start rolling out in the first quarter of 2016. More recently though, Google began to play catch up with a recent announcement that it is building a new virtual reality computing unit.
Clay Bavor, who was the erstwhile vice president of Google's product management team, will lead this new division. The appointment was confirmed by Joshua Cruz, a spokesman at Google, in a Reuters report. Bavor has been involved with the development of several key Google products such as Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs before leading the team who developed the Google Cardboard, Google's first foray in VR console development.
Due to Bavor's executive transplant and shifted focus, he will be replaced by Diane Greene, incoming Google Senior Vice President, according to Re/Code.
It is not yet clear what the new Google VR unit means or what constitutes Google's VR ambitions. It is important to note, however, that Google seldom makes hardware on its own, preferring to partner with manufacturers such as the case with the Nexus phones and tablets. The unit might be a dedicated team that will develop some semblance of virtual operating system, or Android for VR, if you will.
However, there is the case of the cheap Cardboard headset, which Google developed, to consider. This could form the basis of a device similar to Oculus Rift or Microsoft's Hololens. In addition, one must remember that Google has also acquired the augmented reality firm Magic Leap and has been developing a device that maps out 3-D spaces called Project Tango, ZDNET noted. Whatever the case is, the shift demonstrates an official commitment that could further expand the VR as a platform.
