Tech

Google is about to take the wraps off its answer to Facebook's Oculus

Key Points
  • Google will preview its latest virtual reality headset at its developer conference this week.
  • The report comes one year after last year's show, where Google unveiled a big hardware push.
  • The new product won't need to be linked to a smartphone or PC, Variety reports.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

will reportedly preview the latest version of its virtual-reality headset at its annual developer conference this week.

The technology giant has been working on the product, which will work without being connected to a smartphone or PC, for more than a year, according to a report in Variety.

The report comes one year after last year's confab, known as I/O, where Google CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled a big push into hardware.

Pichai said then the company was developing a VR platform called Daydream, and last fall the company revealed the Daydream VR headset, which requires the user to place a compatible phone inside the headset, inches away from their eyes.

The new device would require no phone.

Game makers and other app developers are looking to VR as a platform for growth, and has been racing against , Samsung, Sony, and other rivals to develop hardware that can take advantage of the latest virtual-reality features.