Despite past failures, Google and Magic Leap team up to create Metaverse Goggles.

Magic Leap recently announced a “multi-faceted, strategic technology partnership” with Google to develop new extended reality technology.

This partnership represents what could be considered an odd combination in the tech world. Google recently downsized its Augmented and Extended Reality (AR/XR) team, and Magic Leap is the creator of one of the biggest failures in the space. Nonetheless, this news could bode well for the Metaverse as a whole, as it could indicate further competition between Apple and Meta when it comes to Metaverse hardware and experiences.

According to a statement from Magic Leap CTO Julie Larson-Green, the partnership will highlight Magic Leap’s advancements in optics alongside Google infrastructure.

“This partnership accelerates the transformative power of AR by combining our extensive optical capabilities with Google’s technology to continue advancing immersive experiences for our developer ecosystem and customers. We look forward to expanding the potential of XR by blending real-world, valuable, and contextual solutions.”

The press release doesn’t describe an actual product or announce any potential services, but this could indicate a new headset suitable for AR/XR and thus much-needed competition for current market leaders Meta and Apple.

Related: Apple is ready to take over the market by bringing the metaverse into the mainstream.

As Verge’s Sean Hollister pointed out in a recently published article, it’s unclear what Google is getting in this deal. Its ability to create custom hardware is evident in its extensive line of products, from Pixel smartphones to acclaimed smart speakers. But when it comes to AR/XR headsets and goggles, Magic Leap and Google’s separate efforts with the Magic Leap and Google Glass headsets, respectively, were most notable for their failures.

Hollister speculates that this partnership could be the result of Magic Leap holding a patent or methodology coveted by Google. But Google may not want to spin up new AR/XR devices after its January layoffs or fall behind its biggest rival.