Google is stepping back into the augmented reality race with a new headset

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

There has been a lot of talk about virtual and augmented reality lately with Meta’s vision for the metaverse and Apple working on its upcoming AR/VR headset. Now Google has apparently decided to come back to AR with a new headset codenamed Project Iris that is supposed to come out sometime in 2024.

Sources close to the company told The Verge that the company recently began putting more effort into developing its new AR headset. The sources said that several Pixel engineers are currently working on the device, though it’s unclear if Project Iris will feature Pixel branding.

The headset will use outward-facing cameras to combine computer-generated graphics with real-world video. Early prototypes apparently look like ski goggles and are completely wireless.

Scoop: Google is quietly building its own AR headset, codenamed Project Iris, to take on Meta and Apple.

Target ship year is 2024 for the headset and Project Starline, its futuristic (and very expensive) 3D video conferencing tech. https://t.co/JiKDIBSmVJ

— Alex Heath (@alexeheath) January 20, 2022

Of course, Google has a long history with augmented reality, revealing Google Glass way back in 2013. But the company has been pretty quiet in the AR hardware space for the last few years.

And Project Iris is still in the very early development stages. The company is apparently hopeful that the headset will be revealed sometime in 2024, but there’s still a chance that we have to wait longer than that.

The project is kept under tight wraps at the San Francisco facility where it is being produced. However, there are apparently about 300 people working on the device, and Google is planning to hire more.

With all the hype around virtual and augmented reality recently, it looks like Google is looking to step up its game. This new AR headset looks like the first step in the company’s plan, but we’ll likely have to wait at least until 2024 before we get our hands on it.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Amazon steps back into brick & mortar with high-tech clothing stores
• Google desperately wants Apple to let them into iMessage by adding RCS support
• Apple’s upcoming VR/AR headset could cost buyers over $2,000
• PlayStation kicks off 2022 with a new look at the PlayStation VR2