Android XR has been squarely out of the limelight since Google announced it back in December alongside Samsung’s ‘Project Moohan’ mixed reality headset. There aren’t any firm release dates for either, although both are expected to launch publicly sometime later this year.
While the company has confirmed a number of Android XR features, including the much-awaited support for passthrough camera access, and has also released developer access to its Android XR SDK, we’re still waiting to see how it will stack up against more mature XR ecosystems, like Meta’s Horizon OS and Apple’s visionOS.
Android XR is moving towards public launch later this year, and Google is prepping a new XR toolchain before it does, which will bundle Jetpack SceneCore and ARCore into its XR-specific version of Jetpack. Jetpack XR, which is now in developer preview, lets mobile or large screen Android app devs create spatialized layouts with the help of 3D models and immersive environments. Notably, the inclusion of ARCore with Jetpack XR suggests Google is consolidating its spatial computing tools, giving devs a unified way to build both AR and VR experiences.
I wouldn’t frame it around cardboard. That was a side thing for every day phones. And just a tease. Not a full experience. Terrible optics. Etc. So many things about Cardboard make it just a gimmick/novelty toy.
What you are looking to refrence is their Daydream platform that was a proper HMD platform. And yes, they bailed on it, only to rush back into the game when Apple got close to releasing the Vision Pro.
They have owned a VR game studio that is putting out games across platforms this whole time tho. Owlcemy Labs.
Yes! Daydream. I thought it was the same project/ tech that underlied Cardboard. I stand corrected.