Intel has no plans to build a virtual reality (VR) headset but instead is focusing on helping its partners in the field to eventually push PC sales. Also the chip maker has no intentions of selling a VR headset to consumers. The chip maker has a long history of creating hardware to show off the abilities of its chips but never actually releasing products.
Not a consumer product company
At the Game Developers Conference 2016, Kim Pallister, director of the VR Center of Excellence at Intel, revealed to Techradar: “No, we don’t have plans to build a headset.”
However, the chip maker is working with several partners in the space, including Oculus, Razer and HTC, and companies that are developing VR in regions like China, explained Pallister.
“We’re pretty satisfied working on the base platform that powers that stuff, helping them do whatever they need to do,” the executive said.
Recent reports suggested that the chip maker was creating a headset to deliver an augmented reality experience using its RealSense 3D camera technology. The rumored headset was said to be targeted at producers to demonstrate what all its technology can do instead of being a product for consumers.
Brian Blau, a research director with analysis firm Gartner, said the chip maker is constantly working to make its products relevant in new markets by working with developers and device manufactures.
“They’re a technology company, they’re not a consumer product company,” the analyst noted.
Intel betting big on VR
Intel is focusing on finding solutions to problems the current generation is facing like reducing or removing wires, and the company is already looking forward to second and third-generation VR, said Pallister.
In July 2015, the company bought augmented reality sports goggle maker Recon Instruments and partnered with headset maker IonVR as well. More recently, the chip maker bought Replay Technologies, an Israeli startup working to create 360-degree sports videos.
Pallister did not fully close the door for the chip maker to experiment with a headset to aid other manufacturers in making virtual reality better.
“Maybe we could take a hacker kit and experiment with stuff to show what’s possible,” he said. “But we’re not going to bring a product to market.”
