They’ll work better and faster apart
Some call it “mixed reality.” Others say it’s “expanded reality.” Mark Zuckerburg tried to call it the Metaverse, but that certainly hasn’t done dividends for him. But whatever this field is, Google has been committed to playing around in it, even if it’s had to reset its dreams on a full-blown first-party headset a few times. As Oculus Quests and Microsoft HoloLenses eat Google’s lunch in the meantime, the company is also having to cut down and reorganize its workforce and to achieve updated objectives. To be sure, Google’s still interested in augmented reality, but it’ll be taking a radically different two-pronged approach if fresh rumors are to be believed.
The new intelligence is coming from a tipster to 9to5Google who says Google’s AR division will now be housed under two teams: Platforms & Ecosystems and Devices & Services.
The latter unit, led by Rick Osterloh, has grown its way to success with original consumer hardware under the Pixel and Nest brands. It’s also the unit working in conjunction with some acqui-hires from North on an AR glasswear project that’s sure to bring all sorts of comparisons to the primitive Google Glass from a decade ago.
The other half splitting to Platforms & Ecosystems makes sense given Google’s latest agreement with Samsung to partner on Android-powered extended reality headsets, likely in the way that it distributes its other operating systems out to manufacturers for their use across TVs, phones, Chromebooks, and (especially) smartwatches. Hiroshi Lockheimer will take the reins on this end.
This supposed transition follows word of Google VP Clay Bavor’s announced departure. In spearheading Google Labs, Bavor oversaw items across multiple areas including the moonshot incubator Area 120 as well as in augmented reality — the enterprise-focused Project Starline videoconferencing solution was a prime example. The outgoing executive will partner with Bret Taylor, the former co-CEO of Salesforce and a former CTO at Meta, on an AI startup. Meanwhile, Area 120’s remaining projects have been re-oriented toward applied uses of AI.
If this move signals anything, it’s that augmented reality projects at Google are safe and sound at the company, though the split-up seems to indicate that the company is becoming impatient with monetization. Google isn’t only interested in headsets — though “ski goggles” are in the works last we heard — as the company adapts its services for use in expanded reality environments. But whether Google’s renewed focus on AR can fully escape the shadows cast by advanced competition as well as its own past with Google Glass, well, that’s up to fate.
