Google Working on Standalone AR Headset With Cameras and Voice Input: Report

Google is reportedly working on a standalone Augmented Reality (AR) headset, codenamed Google A65, according to documents obtained by German news site.

The Mountain View firm is said to be working with Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta on the AR headset, the same company that was involved in the production of the Pixel C tablet that was launched in 2015, WinFuture claimed in a report on Friday.

The headset is expected to include camera sensors and microphones to allow users operate the device using Google Assistant. It is said to be powered by a custom quad-core IoT chip from Qualcomm, the QSC603 that supports resolutions up to 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, apart from 1080p and 1030p video capture, 3D overlays, Open GL, Open CL, Vulcan rendering interfaces support; Gigabit wireless, Bluetooth 5.1, and GPS connectivity, and the Android Neural Networks API. Another chipset codenamed SXR1 is reportedly being used.

Google already manufactures an AR headset called the Google Glass, that comes with smart heads-up display and camera and was first launched in 2013. In its current iteration, it is being offered to enterprises.

The Google A65 headset is rumoured to be having many similarities with Microsoft's HoloLens in terms of its operation style and chipset. There is no release date yet as it is still in the prototype stage, according to WinFuture. Of course, Apple is also rumoured to be working on a AR/ VR headset of its own, but it is supposedly in its early stages, as per recent reports.