A recent report published by Taiwan's DigiTimes says that both Gigabyte and ASUS have plans to launch VR devices in the first half of 2016. The coming year really does seem like it will be a decisive one for virtual reality as the tech industry seems to be heavily pregnant with multitudes of VR hardware and software offspring.
Last month we first heard of ASUS' plans to launch an augmented reality (AR) product, as revealed by CEO Jerry Shen in an investor webcast. It's not clear whether DigiTimes is talking about this same product, similar to Microsoft HoloLens, or an entirely different VR product. VR is most definitely on the ASUS roadmap, as in late September it became one of the first systems builders to gain Oculus Ready certification and take gaming to the proverbial 'next level'.
The new DigiTimes report says that ASUS plans to make wearable VR devices to partner its gaming laptops. If that is the case it could be another product, not any confusion with its AR product(s) currently in development.
Turning to Gigabyte, this is the first we have heard of this company's intentions in the VR arena. Apparently Gigabyte is seeking to enter the VR market with a product (co-)developed with VR technology developer 3Glasses. This company sees itself as an Oculus competitor and was recently looking for partners and investment to refine its hardware and expand out of Asia. Perhaps Gigabyte is one of the four companies that acquired a stake in 3Glasses earlier this year.
