Upload VR

JANUARY 22, 2025

Google is acquiring "some of" HTC Vive's engineering team to "accelerate the development of the Android XR platform". As an interesting parallel: in late 2017 Google acquired some of HTC's mobile devices engineering team, and leveraged these engineers to vastly improve the hardware of its Pixel phones.

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VRScout

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

HTC retains brand but lets part of their smartphone business go. Google has announced a $1.1 billion cooperation agreement under which certain HTC employees – many of whom are already working with Google to develop Pixel smartphones – will join Google. According to the announcement, HTC will receive $1.1

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VRScout

APRIL 18, 2017

It was six months ago when Google launched a VR version of Google Earth for the HTC Vive. And still to this day, Google Earth VR remains one of the best, if not the best, app experiences available in VR. An app with such a mass appeal like Google’s Tilt Brush, Earth VR lets you visit locations around the world in 3D.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 10, 2020

Around 40 days ago, I reported to you the news of Google presenting at SIGGRAPH 2020 a new algorithm for recording, encoding, and decoding 6DOF VR videos , that is movies inside which you can physically move. Google Immersive LightField Video technology. Google 6DOF Videos video review. 6DOF Videos. That’s so cool.

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VRScout

AUGUST 21, 2017

On the heels of Oculus dropping the price of their Rift and Touch bundle from $599 to $399 this Summer, HTC Vive is also jumping in with a price reduction of their own. The HTC Vive is getting a $200 price drop, bringing the VR system down from $799 to $599. Image Credit: HTC Vive.

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VRScout

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Last year Google launched a VR version of Google Earth , letting you visit locations around the world in 3D. Available on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the update lets you explore Street View imagery from 85 countries right within Earth VR, making it easier than ever to experience the world as it really is.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Passthrough camera access is a hot topic in the XR community right now and while the positions of Meta, Apple, and Pico are known, everyone is wondering what Google will do with Android XR. Meta, Pico, HTC, then Apple… all of them prevented the developers from accessing the camera frames. But what about Google and Android XR?

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Road to VR

JUNE 3, 2020

HTC has confirmed that it’s laying off staff in order to streamline its business amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. An HTC spokesperson confirmed this with Road to VR, citing a direct impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, HTC remains under tremendous pressure,” the HTC spokesperson told Road to VR.

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VRScout

JUNE 28, 2017

When YouTube channel Nat and Friends toured Google VR, we were honestly expecting to see experiments from Google’s Daydream Labs that we’ve already seen. Projects we’ve reported on like Google’s headset removal or last year’s social VR experiments have been some of our favorites. Putt-Putt Google Earth VR.

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XR Today - Augmented Reality tag

JANUARY 23, 2025

This week, following last month’s AndriodXR announcement and this week’s Samsung Moohan teasers, Google made a massive parrel move. The firm entered a definitive agreement with HTC VIVE, giving the leading XR firm a massive $250 million investment. What a HTC/Google Unitifaction Mean?

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

AUGUST 19, 2024

The VR modelling tool Google Blocks is now available as an open-source version under the name of Open Blocks. Google AR Glasses: Is This the Return of Google Glass? The Launch of Google Blocks Google blocks was introduced in 2017. It was originally released for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

You will be able to finally buy it in Europe and North America for $599, from the dedicated page on the HTC website. HTC Vive Focus Specs. The Vive Focus is HTC’s standalone headset , the one that the Taiwanese/Chinese company wants to use to start making virtual reality widespread.

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 20, 2019

I entered the building with my Chinese assistant Miss S… and I have to say that that place is very beautiful … all white, with an enormous white hall (shared with Google!) Me under the Vive logo in the big hall of HTC headquarters in Taipei. The HTC wireless adapter, positioned over the Vive Pro headset.

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Road to VR

JANUARY 27, 2021

Google announced it has stopped active development on Tilt Brush (2016), the company’s VR paint app. Even before Google discontinued its home-spun Daydream platform in 2019, it was fairly apparent that the company’s interest in developing both VR hardware and software had substantially waned. All is not lost though.

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Road to VR

JUNE 19, 2020

HTC has announced that it will offer its Vive WAVE mobile VR platform to all Snapdragon-based headsets. The move means that headset makers will be able to adopt HTC’s ready-made headset OS (instead of developing their own) and gain instant content compatibility with a pre-existing VR app ecosystem.

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Road to VR

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Samsung’s 2023 Unpacked event was all about the company’s Galaxy S23 hardware, although at the end of its hour-long presentation the South Korean tech giant announced it was working with Qualcomm and Google to develop an XR device. Notably, Samsung hasn’t released a VR product since the launch of the PC VR headset Odyssey+.

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Road to VR

JULY 19, 2021

Google-owned Owlchemy Labs, the studio behind VR classics like Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator , has confirmed that it’s working on a new VR project after running quiet for much of the year. The post Google Studio Owlchemy Labs Affirms Work on New VR Game, Details Expected This Year appeared first on Road to VR.

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Road to VR

JULY 10, 2018

Amazon will soon begin selling VR apps on its massive digital marketplace through a new partnership with HTC. While Steam generally functions as the Vive’s defacto app store, HTC runs its own VR app store called Viveport. But the partnership with HTC affirms the company’s growing interest in VR.

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Road to VR

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

Chialin Chang, HTC’s President of Smartphone and Connected Devices Business, has made his resignation official, reportedly bringing with it a melding of the company’s smartphone and VR divisions—a move that possibly points to the HTC putting greater focus on VR in the face of the company’s waning smartphone business.

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Road to VR

DECEMBER 7, 2017

HTC today announced more specifics around Vive Focus, the company’s standalone mobile VR headset for China-based customers. As reported by YiVian , HTC is putting out two versions: Electric Blue for ¥4,299 (~$650) and Almond White for ¥3,999 ($600). Both 6 DoF headsets will arrive with a 3 DoF Bluetooth controller.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 19, 2021

On the server-side, it is being integrated with Microsoft Azure, and it is also coming in the future for Google Cloud and Tencent Cloud. HTC is going to launch its headset on May, 11th. HTC is keeping rising the hype for its new upcoming headset. Google is hiring waveguide developers for AR. Header image by CapCom).

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Road to VR

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

With middling smartphone sales and a loss of a major portion of its smartphone IP and engineering team to Google last year, HTC appears to be full steam ahead with VR headsets as of late. SEE ALSO HTC Announces 6DOF Controller Tracking Dev Kit for Vive Focus.

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XR Today - Augmented Reality tag

JANUARY 23, 2025

This week, following last month’s AndriodXR announcement and this week’s Samsung Moohan teasers, Google made a massive parrel move. The firm entered a definitive agreement with HTC VIVE, giving the leading XR firm a massive $250 million investment. What a HTC/Google Unitifaction Mean?

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Upload VR

FEBRUARY 2, 2025

Open Blocks, the open source rebirth of Google's Blocks, is now available on Quest in early access. Blocks by Google released in 2017 as a PC VR tool for low-poly 3D modeling with tracked controllers, and was one of the first VR-native 3D creation tools.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 10, 2022

Image by HTC Vive). HTC teases a new headset. HTC has started the usual marketing operation it does for the launch of every new device. We don’t have further details about it, and if you try to enhance the above image, you just get a “Nice try” trolling label coming to view (gg HTC for that). Other relevant news.

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Road to VR

MAY 17, 2018

HTC China President Alvin Wang Graylin tweeted recently that Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018) is projected to have a “significantly positive impact” on VR adoption in China this year. Image courtesy HTC.

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Road to VR

APRIL 20, 2018

Google recently pushed out Chrome 66, the latest update to the company’s web browser. Unbeknownst to the VR community, Google also quietly included WebVR integration for OpenVR-compatible headsets including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets. Google WebVR Experiments.

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Road to VR

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

HTC has announced the appointment of Yves Maitre as its new CEO. Cher Wang, who took over as company CEO in March 2015, is stepping down to continue as Chairwoman of the HTC board. HTC says she will focus on future technologies that both align with the company’s portfolio and vision of Vive Reality.

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Road to VR

OCTOBER 6, 2022

HTC today teased what’s confirmed to be the company’s next VR headset, something the Vive-creator says will be “something big… we mean small.” — HTC VIVE (@htcvive) October 6, 2022. HTC’s casual VR content device Vive Flow already uses one. Image courtesy HTC.

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Road to VR

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, HTC CEO Cher Wang took the stage to outline the company’s big picture approach to the future. ” It makes sense that HTC is investing more time and money in its more successful ventures, and cutting its losses where it can.

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Road to VR

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

Rikard Steiber, Viveport President and Senior VP of Virtual Reality, is departing HTC at the end of the year. Having joined the company in February 2016, Steiber oversaw the launch of Viveport in over 60 markets, HTC’s digital distribution platform for VR games and experiences.

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Road to VR

MAY 24, 2019

Google seems to be taking somewhat of a step back from VR, as Variety reports the company will be shutting down its Jump program for good next month. Google posted an updated Jump FAQ recently regarding the shutdown of the VR video service, outlining that Jump will officially go offline on June 28th, 2019.

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VRScout

OCTOBER 1, 2021

HTC teases new hardware ahead of its mysterious “Go with the Flow” event scheduled to take place later this month. This week HTC Vive tweeted out an image of a mysterious canister with a lid next to a computer. 10.14.21 [link] #gowiththeflow pic.twitter.com/TaidAkicJo — HTC VIVE (@htcvive) September 27, 2021.

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Charlie Fink

JANUARY 23, 2025

Google buys HTC VR tech. TikTok got a short reprieve to make a deal. Project Stargate, a $500B AI plan from OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank, pushes Musk, Microsoft, aside.

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Road to VR

APRIL 28, 2018

But we could see that change in the near future, thanks to research from Google which details a system for low-cost, mobile inside out VR controller tracking. Google’s approach effectively aims to infer the position of the controller by looking at the users arms and hands, instead of glowing markers. Image courtesy Google.

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Road to VR

MARCH 12, 2018

Google announced at last year’s Society for Information Display (SID) Display Week that the company was actively working on a VR-optimized OLED panel capable of packing in pixels at a density heretofore never seen outside of microdisplays – all at a supposedly ‘wide’ field of view (FOV). inch AMOLEDs at 90Hz.

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

MARCH 7, 2025

This device results from a collaboration between Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google, where Qualcomm provides the chipset foundation, and Google deploys its widely discussed AndroidXR framework for the upcoming headset.

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