Google has recently taken a significant step in the XR (Extended Reality) arena by bringing on board a team of HTC’s XR engineers. The tech giant believes this move will inspire faster development of its Android XR platform, which is crucial for both headsets and smart glasses.
This acquisition comes on the heels of Google’s announcement about Android XR last month, which signaled a major shift in the competitive XR market. Notably, Samsung is expected to roll out the first headset using Android XR. While the entrance of familiar players into the consumer XR space is exciting, it is important to address longstanding doubts about Google’s dedication to sticking with such initiatives over an extended period.
While Google has attempted to douse some of these concerns, particularly in an exclusive with Road to VR, skepticism remains due to its history of discontinuing various products and services. One such instance is Google Daydream—a significant venture into XR that they launched back in 2016 but eventually phased out.
The latest development sees Google formalizing an agreement with HTC, facilitating the transfer of some of HTC’s XR engineering talent to Google’s ranks. While specifics are scarce, it seems Google aims to strengthen its position in the XR technology sector by leveraging HTC’s expertise.
Google shared, “Our investment in XR spans over a decade, and this past month, we unveiled the Android XR platform with our valued industry partners. We have now signed an agreement to bring part of the HTC VIVE engineering team to Google, pending standard closing conditions. This team is immensely skilled in VR technology, and their experience will be invaluable as we work towards advancing the Android XR platform across various XR devices.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Google has invested heavily in HTC talent. In 2017, it spent a hefty $1.1 billion acquiring HTC’s smartphone engineering team. A year later, HTC strategically combined its smartphone and VR divisions, underscoring its commitment to XR technology.
The full ramifications of this deal for HTC are not entirely clear at the moment. Headquartered in Taoyuan, Taiwan, HTC primarily manufactures XR headsets targeting enterprises and tech-savvy consumers. Their most recent release is the Vive Focus Vision, a standalone mixed reality headset priced at $1,000, blending features from its predecessors, the Vive Focus 3 and Vive Elite XR.
While HTC has recently explored ventures outside the XR realm, none have had lasting impact. In 2018, the company launched the HTC Exodus 1, a crypto-centric smartphone, followed by a subsequent version in 2019. Also released in 2019 was an at-home 5G hub, capitalizing on the early excitement around 5G technology. However, these products have since been discontinued, leaving the future of HTC’s non-XR endeavors uncertain.
