Virtual reality enthusiasts may have something very exciting to look forward to in the coming months. It appears Google is preparing to introduce a standalone VR headset during their Google I/O conference this week. It will be interesting to see how this HMD will behave, though, as Google has mainly focused on the mobile market so far. An interesting. turn of events hardly anyone expected to see this year.
Standalone VR Headsets Are Coming
It is quite interesting to take note of how much the VR ecosystem has grown over the past few months. Whereas people assumed standalone headsets would be years away, Google is effectively bucking the trend. In fact, it appears both HTC and Lenovo will aid Google in bringing these products to market. More impressively, all of these headsets will support inside-out tracking, which draws some parallels to augmented reality.
For the time being, it is incredibly difficult to come by any specific details regarding these standalone VR headsets. No official release date or pricing has been announced. We do know it seems to come with its own controller, although not much is known about that either. Google has a vision when it comes to VR, and we can only hope they will make this standalone HMD affordable.
What is very peculiar is how these headsets will not require either a phone or a PC. That is rather odd, considering the only ways to experience VR is either through a mobile phone or a powerful computer. Stepping away from this “traditional approach” will raise a lot of questions. It is also an equally exciting approach, to say the least. However, a lot of people doubt these standalone VR headsets will prove a decent experience, as they may not be the most powerful of the bunch.
Although there are plenty of reasons to be excited regarding this development, it is too early to properly gauge its potential impact. We have no idea what software it will run, although a version of Android is not out of the question. We can only hope to receive ore information in the coming months. It is an interesting project to look forward to, though, especially with such popular manufacturers on board.
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