With Project Iris, Google appears ready to go up against Microsoft, Meta and Apple in the coming headset wars

Meta may be the loudest company building AR and VR hardware. Microsoft has HoloLens. Apple is working on something, too. But don’t count out Google.

As The Verge reports, the tech giant has recently begun ramping up work on an AR headset, internally codenamed “Project Iris,” that it hopes to ship in 2024, according to two people familiar with the project who requested anonymity to speak without the company’s permission. Like forthcoming headsets from Meta and Apple, Google’s device uses outward-facing cameras to blend computer graphics with a video feed of the real world, creating a more immersive, mixed reality experience than existing AR glasses from the likes of Snap and Magic Leap. Early prototypes being developed at a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area resemble a pair of ski goggles and don’t require a tethered connection to an external power source.

Google’s headset is still early in development without a clearly defined go-to-market strategy, which indicates that the 2024 target year may be more aspirational than set in stone. The hardware is powered by a custom Google processor, like its newest Google Pixel smartphone, and runs on Android, though recent job listings indicate that a unique OS is in the works. Given power constraints, Google’s strategy is to use its data centers to remotely render some graphics and beam them into the headset via an internet connection. The Verge reports that the Pixel team is involved in some of the hardware pieces, but it’s unclear if the headset will ultimately be Pixel-branded.

Project Iris marks a return to a hardware category that Google has a long and checkered history in. It started with the splashy, ill-fated debut of Google Glass in 2012. And then a multi-year effort to sell VR headsets quietly fizzled out in 2019. Google has since been noticeably silent about its hardware aspirations in the space, instead choosing to focus on software features like Lens, its visual search engine, and AR directions in Google Maps. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg has bet his company on AR and VR, hiring thousands and rebranding from Facebook to Meta. “Metaverse” has become an inescapable buzzword. And Bloomberg reports that Apple is readying its own mixed reality headset for as soon as later this year.

In the meantime, “Project Iris” is a tightly kept secret inside Google, tucked away in a building that requires special keycard access and non-disclosure agreements. The core team working on the headset is roughly 300 people, and Google plans to hire hundreds more. The executive overseeing the effort is Clay Bavor, who reports directly to CEO Sundar Pichai and also manages Project Starline, an ultra-high-resolution video chat booth that was demoed last year.

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