Google’s Recruitment of HTC’s XR Experts Sparks Speculation About HTC’s Future Directions

Google’s recent move to bring in a team of HTC’s XR engineers marks a strategic step, aimed at speeding up the development of its Android XR platform across headsets and smart glasses. This acquisition signals Google’s intent to strengthen its standing in the XR space, positioning itself more competitively, especially as Samsung gears up to introduce the first headset running Android XR. While there’s palpable excitement about the potential rivalry, there’s also lingering skepticism about Google’s long-term commitment to such projects, given its history of discontinuing numerous initiatives, including the Google Daydream, which represented its initial serious foray into XR back in 2016.

In a previous exclusive with Road to VR, Google attempted to quell some of these doubts, yet the skepticism remains due to its past pattern of dropping various ventures. Now, by integrating HTC’s hardware expertise, Google is hoping to cement a more robust footing in the ever-evolving XR industry.

Google shared, “We’ve been investing in XR for over ten years, and merely a month ago, we introduced the Android XR platform with the help of strategic industry allies. Today, we’ve agreed to bring on board a portion of HTC VIVE’s engineering talent, subject to standard closing conditions. This team, with its strong technical foundation and proven VR experience, will play a crucial role in advancing our Android XR platform endeavors for headsets and glasses.”

Interestingly, this isn’t Google’s first significant investment in HTC’s technical talent pool. Back in 2017, Google spent $1.1 billion to acquire HTC’s smartphone engineering talent. A year later, HTC combined its smartphone and VR divisions, indicating a deeper focus on its XR ambitions.

The specifics of Google’s current deal with HTC remain under wraps, leaving questions about HTC’s future direction. Currently, HTC, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, primarily caters to enterprise and prosumer markets with XR headsets like their latest offering, the Vive Focus Vision, a standalone mixed reality headset priced at $1,000. This device uniquely blends features from the Vive Focus 3 (2021) and the Vive Elite XR (2023).

In the past few years, HTC has ventured into non-XR products, such as the 2018 launch of the HTC Exodus 1, a blockchain-based phone, which was followed up with another model a year later. In 2019, they unveiled a 5G home hub during the initial excitement around 5G technology. However, these products are no longer available, leaving observers curious about HTC’s next moves.