Google has plans to roll out a new Android-supported virtual reality headset that'll succeed the cost-effective Cardboard.
In contrast with the Cardboard, Google will use improved lenses and sensors plus a new plastic casing instead of heavy-duty paper this time.
It'll be comparable with the Samsung Gear VR by being able to accommodate an Android smartphone to enable a virtual reality experience. While the Samsung headset is generally more durable and equipped with more motion sensors, the Google unit will make use of only the equipped handset to detect the position of the wearer's head.
However, the Google headset will be compatible with more Android smartphones in an effort to offer virtual reality to more people. The Gear VR has limitations on this aspect, as it only works with recent Galaxy handsets such as the S6, S6 Plus and Note 5.
"VR is too important and too powerful a medium to be accessible to only a few," Clay Bavor, VP of product management at Google, told Time in an interview last month.
To provide an overall better virtual reality experience, Google intends to employ new software on Android, where the headset won't be restricted to only one app like the case with the Cardboard.
"Beyond these early efforts, you'll see a lot more from us and our partners in 2016," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said last week, noting that the Cardboard was "just the first step" of the company's virtual reality push.
It's also worth mentioning that the Mountain View company has shipped approximately 5 million Cardboard units to date, proving that the affordable and paper-made headsets are a big success. In the wake of that impressive figure, Google has posted VR-related job listings just recently, indicating that the company is ready to make a more advanced approach and take a larger portion of the virtual reality market.
One problem that virtual reality users usually come across is dizziness caused by the slight latency of current headsets. Google hopes to fix that issue with advanced software and peripherals.
As for availability, it's expected that Google will launch the virtual reality headset in question sometime this year with the Android VR.
