Cardboard ‘is not the end of the line’ for Google’s VR ambitions

The head of Google’s VR division Clay Bavor has admitted the Cardboard headset is not the sub total of the company’s ambitions in the sector.

Speaking to TIME, Bavor stopped short of confirming Google is creating their own version of the Oculus Rift or Gear VR, but did admit Google was ‘working on things.’

He said: “The amazing thing about Cardboard is that it’s truly VR for everyone with a smartphone. We think there’s something powerful and important in that. Is that the end of the line? Of course it’s not the end of the line.

“I think if you imagine the types of things that a company with the ambition and the technical resources and the know-how of Google would be working on, we’re working on a lot of those things.”

Read more: Best Google Cardboard apps

The TIME report says Google will today announce it has shipped a whopping 5 million Cardboard VR headsets, the inexpensive accessory which enables entry-level virtual reality experiences.

The new VP of VR also revealed 25 million Cardboard-ready apps have been downloaded from the Play Store.

Bavor, who is responsible for the Cardboard platform, said headset owners are downloading an average of five apps per headset.

The most popular app for Google Cardboard, which requires users to insert their smartphone and peer through two plastic lenses, is the first-person horror game called Chair In A Room.

Bavor said the success of Cardboard comes despite no current smartphones being optimised for VR.

“The interesting thing about Cardboard is, the smartphones weren’t built for VR,” he said.

“With the exception of a few, they were all designed and built before Cardboard existed. So there’s no thought about how you could optimize a smartphone to make it great not only as a smartphone, but also as the core of a VR device.”