Google’s Acquisition of HTC XR Experts Sparks Speculation on HTC’s Future Steps

Recently, Google made a significant move by acquiring several engineers from HTC’s XR team. This strategic decision aims to speed up the development of Google’s Android XR platform, which is critical for the dynamic ecosystem of headsets and smart glasses.

Just last month, Google unveiled its Android XR platform, marking a pivotal change in the XR industry’s competitive landscape. Samsung appears poised to be the first to launch a headset operating on Android XR, which adds a familiar player into the competitive mix of consumer XR products. However, the buzz surrounding this announcement is moderated by the usual skepticism regarding Google’s reliability in committing to long-term projects.

In an exclusive Road to VR feature, Google attempted to address some concerns about its commitment, but the fears remain due to Google’s history of discontinuing products and services over the years. This includes Google Daydream, their initial foray into the XR space back in 2016, which was eventually shut down.

Google has now entered into an agreement with HTC to bring some of HTC’s XR engineering talent on board. While specifics of the agreement are not fully disclosed, it’s likely that Google is leveraging HTC’s expertise in hardware development to solidify its position in the evolving XR market.

Google noted in its announcement, “We’ve been investing in XR for more than a decade, and just last month introduced the Android XR platform with our strategic industry partners. Today we signed an agreement to welcome some of the HTC VIVE engineering team to Google, which is subject to customary closing conditions. They are an incredibly strong technical team with a proven track record in the VR space, and we are looking forward to working with them to accelerate the development of the Android XR platform across the headsets and glasses ecosystem.”

Interestingly enough, this isn’t Google’s first acquisition of HTC talent. Back in 2017, Google invested a hefty $1.1 billion to acquire HTC’s smartphone engineering team. By the following year, HTC had merged its smartphone and VR businesses, highlighting its intensified focus on XR possibilities.

While details of this new arrangement remain under wraps, HTC’s current path is somewhat unclear. Operating from its base in Taoyuan, Taiwan, HTC is heavily involved in manufacturing XR headsets for enterprise use and prosumers, like its recent Vive Focus Vision, a standalone mixed reality headset priced at $1,000. This device incorporates features from both the Vive Focus 3 (2021) and the Vive Elite XR (2023).

HTC has previously ventured outside the XR realm, although with limited success. In 2018, it launched the HTC Exodus 1, a blockchain-centric phone, which led to a successor the following year. They also introduced a 5G hub for home use in 2019 during the initial excitement over 5G networks. However, none of these devices are currently available, leaving us to speculate about HTC’s next steps.