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Google

From VR & AR Wiki
Google
Information
Type Subsidiary
Industry Internet Search, Online Advertising, Consumer Electronics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality
Founded September 4, 1998
Founder Larry Page, Sergey Brin
Headquarters Mountain View, California, U.S.
Notable Personnel Sundar Pichai (CEO)
Products Google Cardboard, Daydream, Google Glass, ARCore, Android XR
Parent Alphabet Inc.
Website www.google.com

Google is an Internet search and advertising corporation founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and based in Mountain View, California. Since October 2, 2015, Google has operated as a subsidiary of the holding company Alphabet Inc., created through a corporate restructuring of Google; Sundar Pichai became chief executive officer of Google as part of that reorganization.[1][2]

Google has been one of the most consequential companies in the history of consumer virtual reality and augmented reality. Its experimental division Google X (later simply "X") developed Google Glass, an early consumer smart glasses product. Over the following decade Google introduced low-cost smartphone VR with Google Cardboard, a higher-end mobile VR platform with Daydream, a smartphone AR platform with Project Tango and its successor ARCore, and ultimately the Android XR operating system, an XR platform developed jointly with Samsung and Qualcomm.

Google Glass

Main article: Google Glass

Google Glass is an optical head-mounted display designed as a hands-free smart glasses device. Google publicly announced the product as "Project Glass" in April 2012, with co-founder Sergey Brin demonstrating an early prototype.[3] The Explorer Edition was released to developers in February 2013 and made available to the wider public on April 15, 2014, priced at $1,500.[3] On January 15, 2015, Google announced that it would stop selling the Explorer Edition and ended the open beta Explorer program.[3]

Google later repositioned Glass as an enterprise tool. The Glass Enterprise Edition 1 was announced in July 2017 for use in factories, logistics, and field service.[3] The Glass Enterprise Edition 2, announced in May 2019, was built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 platform and featured an 8-megapixel camera and improved battery life.[3] Google ceased sales of the Glass Enterprise Edition on March 15, 2023, and ended software support on September 15, 2023, retiring the Glass product line.[4][5]

Google Cardboard

Main article: Google Cardboard

Google Cardboard is a low-cost VR viewer platform that uses a folded cardboard housing and a user's smartphone as the display and processor. It was introduced at the Google I/O 2014 developer conference, where a viewer was given to attendees.[6] Cardboard made smartphone-based VR accessible to a mass audience and supported viewers from many third-party manufacturers built to Google's open specification.

In November 2019, Google issued a deprecation notice for the Cardboard components of its Google VR SDK and open-sourced the Cardboard SDK for community development.[7] In March 2021, Google stopped selling Cardboard viewers through the Google Store, though the open-source SDK remains available.[7][8]

Project Tango

Main article: Project Tango

Project Tango was an augmented reality computing platform that Google began previewing in 2014. It used specialized hardware including depth sensors and motion-tracking cameras to let mobile devices understand their position and the three-dimensional structure of the environment without GPS, enabling features such as indoor mapping, physical-space measurement, and 3D scanning.[9] Because it required specialized hardware, Tango shipped on only a small number of devices, including the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and the Asus ZenFone AR.[9]

On December 15, 2017, Google announced that it would end support for Tango on March 1, 2018, in favor of ARCore, which delivered comparable AR functionality on standard smartphone hardware.[10]

ARCore

Main article: ARCore

ARCore is Google's software development kit for building augmented reality applications on Android (and, via cross-platform tooling, on iOS). It was announced in August 2017 and reached version 1.0 in February 2018.[11] Unlike Project Tango, ARCore runs on standard smartphone cameras and sensors rather than dedicated depth hardware.

ARCore provides three core capabilities: motion tracking using simultaneous localization and mapping to track the device's position relative to the world; environmental understanding through detection of flat horizontal and vertical surfaces; and light estimation so virtual objects can be lit consistently with the real scene.[11] A later addition, the ARCore Geospatial API, matches a device's camera view against Google Maps Street View imagery using Google's visual positioning system to place content at precise real-world locations.[11] ARCore has continued to receive updates and remains in active development, and it is one of the supported development tools for Android XR.[11][12]

Google Daydream

Main article: Google Daydream

Google Daydream was a higher-end mobile VR platform that Google announced at its developer conference on May 19, 2016, as a successor to Google Cardboard for certified "Daydream-ready" Android phones.[13] The first Daydream View headset, a soft fabric-covered viewer bundled with a motion controller, was released on November 10, 2016, for $79.[13] A second-generation Daydream View followed on October 19, 2017, at $99, with a wider field of view and refreshed design.[13]

In 2018, Lenovo released the Lenovo Mirage Solo, the first standalone Daydream headset, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and using Google's WorldSense inside-out positional tracking, which did not require a phone or a PC.[14]

On October 15, 2019, Google discontinued the Daydream View headset and confirmed that the new Pixel 4 would not support the platform, ending its smartphone VR effort. Google cited limited consumer and developer adoption and the inherent limitations of phone-based VR.[15]

AR translation glasses prototype (2022)

At Google I/O on May 11, 2022, Sundar Pichai closed the keynote by showing a prototype pair of augmented reality glasses that displayed real-time transcription and translation of spoken language directly on the lenses, allowing a wearer to read a translation of a conversation while maintaining eye contact.[16][17] Google presented the device only as a demonstration and did not name it, price it, or commit to a release.[16]

Android XR

Main article: Android XR

Android XR is an extended reality operating system built on Android and developed by Google in collaboration with Samsung and Qualcomm. Google announced the platform on December 12, 2024, in New York City.[12][18] Android XR is designed to span VR, AR, and mixed reality devices, from full headsets to lightweight smart glasses, and is heavily integrated with Google's Gemini generative AI assistant.[18][12]

For developers, Android XR supports established Android tooling along with ARCore, OpenXR, Unity, Android Studio, and Jetpack Compose, and because it is based on Android, most existing Play Store apps run on it.[12] Qualcomm provides the reference silicon for the platform, with its Snapdragon XR chips powering partner devices.[19]

The first device to run Android XR is the Samsung Galaxy XR, a mixed reality headset developed by Samsung with Google and Qualcomm under the codename "Project Moohan." It was unveiled on October 21, 2025, at a launch price of $1,799, with shipments beginning on October 31, 2025.[20][21] The Galaxy XR uses dual Micro-OLED displays at 3552 x 3840 pixels per eye and a separate external battery pack.[20]

Other VR/AR activities

Google made a series of acquisitions and investments to build out its VR and AR ecosystem during the 2010s:

On October 21, 2014, Google led the $542 million Series B funding round for the AR startup Magic Leap. On April 16, 2015, Google acquired Skillman & Hackett, developer of the VR painting application Tilt Brush, and the VR spatial-audio company Thrive Audio. On May 28, 2015, Google announced Jump, a platform and camera rig for capturing 360-degree VR video. On January 12, 2016, Google announced a dedicated VR division headed by Clay Bavor, VP of product management. On October 15, 2016, Google acquired Eyefluence, a company developing eye-tracking technology for VR HMDs. On May 11, 2017, Google acquired Owlchemy Labs, the studio behind VR titles including Job Simulator, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, and AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaCULUS!!!.

History

Date Event
April 2012 Google announces "Project Glass," its smart glasses effort.[3]
February 2013 Google Glass Explorer Edition is released to developers.[3]
June 2014 Google Cardboard is introduced at Google I/O 2014.[6]
2014 Google begins previewing the Project Tango AR platform.[9]
October 21, 2014 Google leads the $542 million Series B round for Magic Leap.
January 15, 2015 Sales of the Google Glass Explorer Edition end and the Explorer program closes.[3]
April 16, 2015 Google acquires Tilt Brush developer Skillman & Hackett and VR audio firm Thrive Audio.
May 28, 2015 Google announces the Jump 360-degree VR video platform.
October 2, 2015 Google reorganizes under the new parent company Alphabet Inc., with Sundar Pichai as CEO of Google.[1][2]
January 12, 2016 Google announces a dedicated VR division led by Clay Bavor.
May 19, 2016 Google announces the Daydream mobile VR platform.[13]
October 15, 2016 Google acquires eye-tracking company Eyefluence.
November 10, 2016 The Daydream View launches at $79.[13]
May 11, 2017 Google acquires VR studio Owlchemy Labs.
July 2017 Google announces the Glass Enterprise Edition 1.[3]
August 2017 Google announces ARCore.[11]
October 19, 2017 The second-generation Daydream View launches at $99.[13]
December 15, 2017 Google announces it will end Project Tango in favor of ARCore.[10]
February 2018 ARCore reaches version 1.0.[11]
2018 Lenovo ships the Lenovo Mirage Solo, the first standalone Daydream headset.[14]
May 2019 Google announces the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1.[3]
October 15, 2019 Google discontinues the Daydream View and ends the Daydream platform.[15]
March 2021 Google stops selling Google Cardboard viewers; the SDK stays open source.[7]
May 11, 2022 Google demos a prototype AR translation glasses at Google I/O.[16]
March 15, 2023 Google discontinues the Google Glass Enterprise Edition.[4]
December 12, 2024 Google announces the Android XR platform with Samsung and Qualcomm.[12]
October 21, 2025 The Samsung Galaxy XR (Project Moohan), the first Android XR device, is unveiled.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Alphabet Inc.". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_Inc..
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Google Inc. Form 8-K (G is for Google)". Google Inc.. 2015-08-10. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001288776/000119312515102633/d896055dex991.htm.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 "Google Glass". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Google has discontinued the Glass Enterprise Edition". 2023-03-15. https://9to5google.com/2023/03/15/google-glass-enterprise-edition-discontinued/.
  5. ↑ "Google Discontinues Glass Enterprise Edition Smartglasses". 2023-03-15. https://www.roadtovr.com/google-discontinues-glass-enterprise/.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Google Cardboard". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Cardboard.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Google finally stops selling Cardboard VR goggles". 2021-03-03. https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/03/03/google-finally-stops-selling-cardboard-vr-goggles/.
  8. ↑ "Google Cardboard VR Viewer Sales End Months After Open Source Change". 2021-03. https://www.slashgear.com/google-cardboard-vr-viewer-sales-end-months-after-open-source-change-03662161/.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Tango (platform)". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tango_(platform).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Google kills its Tango augmented reality platform, shifting focus to ARCore". 2017-12-15. https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/15/google-kills-its-tango-augmented-reality-platform-shifting-focus-to-arcore/.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 "ARCore". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARCore.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 "Google announces Android XR platform, will launch first on Samsung's Project Moohan device". 2024-12-12. https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/12/google-announces-android-xr-platform-will-launch-first-on-samsungs-project-moohan-device/.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 "Google Daydream". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Daydream.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Lenovo unveils Mirage Solo, the first standalone Google Daydream VR headset, coming in Q2 2018". 2018-01-11. https://venturebeat.com/business/lenovo-unveils-mirage-solo-the-first-standalone-google-daydream-vr-headset-coming-in-q2-2018/.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Google's Daydream VR experiment is over". 2019-10-15. https://www.engadget.com/2019-10-15-google-daydream-view-smartphone-vr-pixel-4.html.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Google surprisingly talks augmented reality glasses at I/O 2022, starting with AR translation tease". 2022-05-11. https://9to5google.com/2022/05/11/google-ar-glasses-translation/.
  17. ↑ "Google teases smart glasses prototype that translates languages in real time". 2022-05-11. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/11/google-smart-glasses-prototype-translates-languages-in-real-time.html.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Android XR". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_XR.
  19. ↑ "Qualcomm and Google collaborate to launch new Android XR platform". 2024-12. https://www.qualcomm.com/developer/blog/2024/12/qualcomm-google-collaborate-to-launch-android-xr-platform.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Samsung Galaxy XR". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_XR.
  21. ↑ "Samsung Project Moohan / Galaxy XR launch date officially announced". 2025-10. https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_project_moohan_galaxy_xr_launch_date-news-69913.php.
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