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Since its founding in 1998, Google has been at the forefront of technological innovation. From its humble beginnings as a search engine, it has since grown into everything from navigation tools to web browsers with the very unique Google Chrome, to an office suite and mobile phones. Of course, along the way, some of Google’s products have been forgotten and have a long list of failures. One of the most interesting is Google Cardboard, a virtual reality platform that was launched in 2014 but discontinued in 2021.
Google Cardboard is a fairly simple product designed to make the joy of VR as accessible as possible. The set comes with a cardboard headset with built-in glass lenses. There’s a slot on the front to plug in your smartphone so you can watch YouTube, play VR-enhanced games, or explore immersive VR-enabled maps. When the headset was available in stores, it cost just $15, making Cardboard a cost-effective alternative to other VR products available at the time.
So why did Google pull Cardboard from the market and end support for its accompanying software? Simply put, interest in the product waned. Although Cardboard shipped around 15 million units worldwide, usage dropped dramatically. Needless to say, VR as a whole has struggled to find a strong mainstream following since its biggest push in the 2010s, with Cardboard’s successor, Google Daydream, only lasting from 2016 to 2019. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who already own Cardboard or are interested in trying it out.
Google Cardboard remains somewhat accessible even years after its official demise
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Google is shutting down Cardboard VR in 2021, but it’s not impossible to give it a try. The company announced in 2019 that it would open source the Google Cardboard software development kit. “Cardboard’s overall usage has declined over time, and while we’re not actively developing it in the Google VR SDK, it’s still used consistently in entertainment and education experiences. And we want to ensure that Cardboard’s no-frills, accessible approach to VR remains available for everyone,” wrote Jeffrey Chen, Google’s augmented and virtual reality product manager.
The software itself is alive, but it’s useless if you can’t use it. After all, you can’t just buy a Cardboard headset. The nice thing about Google Cardboard is that the name wasn’t chosen for nothing. The headset is actually made of cardboard, so that’s all you need to make your own. All you need is some reasonably sturdy cardboard, some Velcro, some magnets, some rubber bands, and some lenses. There are plenty of instructions online, including Instructables, to help you make one. Alternatively, you can buy a used headset.
Google Cardboard may not be remembered as one of the biggest VR or AR flops of all time, but it wasn’t a hugely successful attempt either, so it’s not surprising the company abandoned it, but at the very least it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
