Intel might be developing its own augmented reality headset

Intel hasn’t found much success in the mobile industry, which is why the company has turned to emerging industries like drones and wearables in an effort to expand its business beyond personal computing, and those aren’t the only emerging industries that it’s interested in. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Intel is interested in augmented reality as well, and is actually developing its own augmented reality headset, which will compete directly with the likes of Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens. 

Intel is reportedly developing an augmented reality headset based on the company’s RealSense 3D technology. Citing anonymous sources, the Wall Street Journal suggested the California tech titan will compete with products like Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens. Unlike virtual reality, which places the user into a computer-generated scene, augmented reality (or mixed reality) superimposes data onto the real world via a headset display. Intel did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment. These rumors, however, fit the company’s recent push to expand its business—which is still led by standard processors—into wearables and the Internet of Things. Its RealSense technology, meanwhile, has already been integrated into Google’s Project Tango and a virtual butler named Relay. Intel isn’t the only one pursuing augmented reality: Meta’s second-generation AR headset is now available to pre-order online. Expected to begin shipping to developers in the third quarter of this year, the $949 device boasts a huge 90-degree field of view, high-definition see-through display, and direct hand control.