Google is reportedly planning a new VR (virtual reality) device that will compete with Facebook's Oculus and Samsung's Gear VR, reports Tim Bradshaw of the Financial Times.
It's not Google's first attempt at a VR device, though Bradshaw says it will be very different from its first cardboard-based device. Google's new device will be made of plastic and run on a new version of Android software.
Google will release the device alongside the new technology that will power the new Android VR sometime in 2016. Bradshaw says the device will use existing smartphones. The phone will be placed in a slot that the plastic device will come with.
There seems to be a lot of interest in virtual reality devices from major tech companies. Google has sold over 5 million Cardboard devices that use sensors and a smartphone to provide an introductory virtual reality experience.
Industry analysts agree. In a recent study, Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini said the virtual and augmented reality market could become an $80 billion industry by 2025. So many of the big tech names are trying to get ready.
