How Googles augmented-reality dream turned into chaos

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Those rivals have also faced setbacks, but Iris was beset by a constantly shifting strategy and lack of focus from senior leadership, laying bare the companys ongoing struggle to become a hardware power player, according to conversations with seven current and former employees close to Googles AR efforts. The team also worked on two custom silicon chips, code-named Alius and Alexandrite, that would power the brains and display of Iris, respectively, making it a truly Google-built product in line with its Pixel smartphones. Samsung wanted to build a headset device similar to Apples Vision Pro, which would mix virtual and augmented reality, and Google would design Android-based software to power it. South Koreas SBS Biz reported earlier this month that Samsung delayed the headset after the Vision Pros reveal over fears its device wouldnt be enough to go toe-to-toe with Apple. Leaders told staff they want to secure a partner for these glasses as soon as this year but dont expect a product to arrive on the market until 2025 at the earliest, a person familiar with the road map said.

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