No word yet on an official price or release date.
Location-based AR developer Niantic (Pokémon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite) is currently in development of its own proprietary headset device, one that promises to leverage the companies rapidly-expanding platform.
While information is scarce at the moment, Niantic CEO John Hanke offered us our first look at the upcoming hardware via Twitter, revealing some sort of “see-through” headset complete with adjustable straps. To the left of the orange Niantic logo, you can also spot what appears to be a speaker or microphone port of some sort.
As for the exact purpose of this mysterious hardware, your guess is as good as mine. While the team has yet to confirm any form of AR functionality, Hanke does state that the company is working on “new kinds of devices that leverage [their] platform.”
I have to imagine Niantic’s headset will work in tandem with existing titles like Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, as well as upcoming releases, such as the recently-announced Pikmin AR mobile game. As far how exactly, well, that remains to be seen.
While I’m sure many of us are hoping for realistic AR overlays similar to the ones showcased during the Microsoft Mesh presentation—in which Niantic showed off impressive Pokémon Go mixed reality visuals powered by HoloLens–it’s entirely possible Niantic’s headset will feature an execution more similar to that of Snapchat’s Spectacles or Facebook’s own mysterious headset; primarily video capture and GPS tracking.
Feature Image Credit: Niantic
