Google swipes part of HTC's XR division

It’s official! Google has a fixation on making waves in the XR space. We all know that the company has developed Android XR in collaboration with Samsung. However, it goes deeper than that, as Google acquired part of HTC’s XR division.

Speaking of XR, Samsung showed off its XR headset at its Galaxy Unpacked event. Along with letting people pre-order the Galaxy S25 phones, Samsung showed off what its headset will look like. It looks rather nice. It’s our first look at Google’s and Samsung’s vision for XR technology.

Google acquired part of HTC’s XR division

While it didn’t make a grand exodus like LG, HTC has been out of the smartphone limelight for quite some time. We haven’t seen a true flagship from the company in so long, but that doesn’t mean that it’s been quiet. The company has been making a ton of VR headsets under its Vive series, and it has quite a selection of devices.

It seems that Google has taken notice of this and moved to nip some of the company’s talent. According to a new report, Google acquired some of HTC’s XR division. It doesn’t look like Google will get its hands on any of the company’s hardware. Rather, several of HTC’s best minds will migrate over to Google. Along with that, Google will receive a non-exclusive license to use the company’s XR intellectual property.

So, it looks like Google is bringing over HTC’s brightest minds to help it develop Android XR, but who knows if it could be for something else? As per HTC’s report, the companies will “explore future collaboration opportunities.” So, this might not be the last time these two companies partner for the sake of XR.

This isn’t the first time that Google turned to HTC to help it with its foray into a market. If you recall, HTC manufactured the first Google Pixel phone back in 2016.

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