Google is bulk buying HTC Vive engineers to help Android XR become a platform that can rival Meta’s VR/AR dominance [Video]

Last month, Google introduced the Android XR platform in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm, which is “a new operating system built for this next generation of computing”. Now, Google has bought part of HTC Vive’s engineering team, HTC Vive of course having ample experience engineering VR headsets.

Google says this handover of engineers is “subject to customary closing conditions” and emphasises that 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.”

With Android XR, Google is intending to “create a vibrant ecosystem of developers and device makers for Android XR.” The OS itself should enable you to do all the kinds of MR (mixed reality) things that got people so initially hyped over the Vision Pro.

Google explains: “You can fill the space around you with …