Search giant Google Inc. GOOGL is reportedly gearing up to compete with Facebook’s FB Oculus VR by building a version of the Android operating system (OS) to power virtual reality (VR) applications. Google declined to comment on the reports.
Per reports, Google has hired a VR team headed by Vice President of product management Clay Bavor and engineering director Jeremy Doig. This software platform would be an “open” OS, which could be used by anybody to create VR apps. It means that the Android for virtual reality would be distributed to hardware manufacturers for free, the very move that made it a popular operating system for smartphones.
There are now four versions of Android, for smartphones, wearable devices, televisions and cars.
Bavor also helped in building Google Cardboard, which is a fold-out cardboard smartphone mount that when combined with lenses, a magnet, a piece of hook-and-loop fastener, and a rubber band and held against the face, offers a virtual reality experience.
The virtual reality market is still nascent but is being touted as the next big thing. Competition is already rife in the virtual reality headsets space. With HoloLens, Microsoft MSFT is foraying into the world of 3-D headsets, where Facebook and Google are already present with Glass and Oculus Rift. Other Silicon Valley rivals in the space include Sony's SNE Project Morpheus and Samsung’s Gear VR such head.
While the companies are investing heavily to secure their own position in virtual reality headsets, a leading operating system is yet to surface. Though the recent launch is definitely not its first attempt at VR, Google with its already famous OS is clearly in a good position to develop this option.
The latest move, which is a bold step in our view, into the emerging virtual reality market is expected to bear fruit in the near term. If this version of Android manages to emulate the success of the smartphone OS, it will help Google to dominate the virtual reality market, going forward.
Google currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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