Google has confirmed that Clay Bavor, its Vice President for product management and leader of apps team, now heads all of its Virtual Reality (VR) projects. The recent changeover has been analyzed as Google's keenness for entering into the VR market.
Clay Bavor has overseen Google developed core apps projects like Gmail, Drive and Docs and Cardboard. He has now been moved to VR division for full time as the in charge, reports Engadget.
Bavor's duties as the head of Google's app team will now be taken by Diane Greene. However, this placement has been announced previously in November. The new SVP will act as the leader of 'Google for Work', Cloud Platform and Google Apps under one new division.
In a similar move, Facebook has reassigned Instagram's Director of product as the Head of Product Management at the company's Oculus VR subsidiary. Though a coincidence, but both Oculus of Facebook and Google intend to transform VR as a popular platform for downloading apps, reports Variety.
Facebook is the parent company of Oculus. It will launch self developed Oculus Rift virtual reality headset in March.
Unlike Google and Facebook, other major tech giants are reported to enrich potential in the VR arena. HTC plans to release its Vive VR headset in April, and Microsoft is working on its own technology of HoloLens augmented reality device, reports Androidcentral.
Both Google and Facebook exhibit very different approaches towards VR. Google's Cardboard VR viewer is being offered for free to the millions, while Oculus is about to sell its Rift headset for $599.
However, for more price sensitive consumers, Oculus has initiated offering consumers with the $99 Gear VR, manufactured by Samsung. Google hasn't revealed yet the further destination of Cardboard. But the company will definitely embrace more full-featured headsets as well which could compete more directly with the Gear VR.
Google aims for a bigger piece of the ever-growing VR pie completely through Google twists. Its focus has so far been less on gaming and more on education and news consumption. This puts a rational difference over intentions of these two tech giants.
Both Google and Facebook in a similar move have changed executives for their Virtual Reality projects concurrently. Both the tech giants intend to grab larger piece of the ever-growing VR market adopting different marketing strategies. Google's Cardboard VR viewer is being offered for free to the millions. And Facebook backed Oculus is about to sell its Rift headset for $599.
Join the Conversation