After its runaway success with Cardboard, its open source VR headset, Google is rumored to be working on a new version to be unveiled that this year's Google I/O in May.

Google's Cardboard may have started out as something of a joke when it was introduced at Google I/O in 2014 but it has materialized into a core part of Google's vision of the future. 

A Google blog post recently revealed that over 5 million Cardboard viewers have been shipped and that 25 million installs had been made of Cardboard apps, 10 million of them in the previous 2 months.

Back in January Google indicated a commitment to VR by forming a business unit dedicated to it with Clay Bavor, who had been leading the Cardboard team, at its helm. In an interview for Time magazine Bavor hinted at future expansion saying:

“The amazing thing about Cardboard is that it’s truly VR for everyone with a smartphone. We think there’s something powerful and important in that. Is that the end of the line? Of course it’s not the end of the line."

 Then at the annual earnings call for Google's parent company, Alphabet, CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google’s Cardboard was just a first step in its VR efforts:

“Beyond these early efforts, you’ll see a lot more from us and our partners in 2016.” 

According to the Financial Times, relying on people familiar with Google's plans, the new headset will feature a more solid plastic casing, better sensors and better lenses. In addition Google intends to improve the quality of viewing experience by building VR capabilities directly into the Android operating system, referred to as Android VR. This is to overcome the widely experienced problem with VR is the latency between a user's head movement and the corresponding reaction in virtual reality space, that causes dizzyness and nausea.

It is also speculation that the new VR headset will be previewed at the I/O developer conference before being launched with Google's new Nexus device in September. We'll have to wait and see. 

More Information

Google pushes further into virtual reality with new headset (Financial Times)

(Un)folding a virtual journey with Google Cardboard

Google’s New Head of Virtual Reality on What They’re Planning Next (Time)

Google Cardboard

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The Most Exciting Thing At Google I/O - A Piece Of Cardboard 

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