Google is reportedly working on a new AR headset for 2024

Google is reportedly working on a new AR headset for 2024

To be completely honest, it would be a bigger surprise at this point if Google weren't working on its own augmented reality headset right now. It is expected to ship in 2024, according to a new report from The Verge. The company is attempting to compete with Meta and Apple, the latter of which has been rumored to be operating in the augmented reality space for quite some time now.

An assortment of internal sources and job listings cited in today's report indicate that a device running a new operating system on a custom chip (similar to Google's latest Pixel handset) that would delegate some of its on-board processing power to remote servers is in the works. That would be consistent with the company's remote gaming initiative, Stadia, which has so far received a lukewarm response. It is possible that it will make use of either an on-board 5G connection or a connected handset to accomplish this. Latency may be a difficult problem to solve on a product that is intended to be worn outside the home, just as it is with cloud gaming.

It has also been a mixed bag for Google's forays into the worlds of augmented reality and virtual reality. Glass was withdrawn from the market by the company in 2015, less than a year after it was first made available to the public. Despite the fact that it was released more than half a decade too early, pricing and limited functionality have both been cited as major reasons for the product's failure.

In the meantime, the Google Glass Enterprise Edition, which is more closely aligned with Microsoft's augmented reality play, HoloLens, has adopted a different model for the technology. While augmented reality has not yet gained widespread acceptance, Microsoft has found success in the category through large partnerships, such as the $22 billion deal with the United States Army to purchase 120,000 headsets for soldiers in Afghanistan.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, has been predictably coy in his discussions about the company's future augmented reality efforts, even bordering on tepid. Project Iris appears to be tucked away deep within Google's development bowels. "For a period of time, we were intensely focused on thinking about computing in the long term." He made the statement during a recent earnings call. As previously discussed, ambient computing is on the rise, and it's only a matter of time before we see other successful form factors beyond smartphones." Augmented reality, in particular, is a fascinating component of that future."

What is clear is that Google recognizes a cresting wave and wishes to be a part of it in some way. The company appears to be well-positioned to deliver a compelling product — one that extends the reach of augmented reality beyond enterprise deals and onto the faces of everyday consumers. Despite some setbacks,