Google is gunning for its rivals in the battle for virtual reality, according to the latest rumours.

The California-based firm is reportedly working on an update to its current entry-level VR headset called Cardboard, and is expected to release the high-end gadget later this year.

The rumours also claim Google is bolstering its Android support for VR and will create a headset that doesn't require a phone.

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Confirmation of the new system leaked on Google's own developer centre. On the right an icon for Android VR can be seen.

One expert claims the headset will be less powerful that the Oculus rift or HTC Vive - but won't require a $1500 PC to run as they both do.

'Android VR will definitely be announced next week, and from what I’ve heard will be less powerful than the Vive or Rift,' according to Peter Rojas of betaworks.

However, he claims the system will be more powerful that the Samsung and Oculus Gear VR.

According to Recode, the search giant is also forming its own dedicated division for virtual reality computing.

It will be headed by Clay Bavor, currently a VP for product management.

He oversaw Google Cardboard, a low cost phone holder which launched in 2014.

The rumours were first reported in the Financial Times earlier this year.

The site explained that the new headset will support a wider range of devices than Samsung's Gear, which is limited to Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

In addition, Google plans to solve the lingering latency problem with VR – the slight delay between head movements and the video stream - which can be disorientating and leave users dizzy.

California-based tech giant Google is reportedly set to challenge Samsung in the virtual reality arena with a high-tech headset of its own which could be released later this year. The smartphone-based system will rival Gear VR (pictured), the Samsung-Oculus Rift collaboration which has been available since last year

GOOGLE'S NEXT-GEN VR HEADSET The tech giant is reportedly working on an update to its current entry-level Cardboard, and is expected to release a headset this year. The firm is bolstering its Android support for VR and is developing a smartphone-based system which will rival Gear-VR, the Samsung-Oculus Rift collaboration which has been available since last year. The new headset will support a wider range of devices than Samsung's Gear, which is limited to Samsung Galaxy smartphones. In addition, Google plans to solve the lingering latency problem with VR – the slight delay between head movements and the video stream – which can be disorientating and leave users dizzy. Advertisement

Future developments could also see Google develop its Android operating system to incorporate VR support, rather than using a dedicated VR app, as currently.

During the Mountain View-based firm's recent quarterly earnings announcement, chief executive Sundar Pichai said that Cardboard was the first step for the global search firm's aspirations for VR.

He said: 'Beyond these early efforts, you'll see a lot more from us and our partners in 2016,'

At the end of January, Google provided an update on its official blog on the success to date of Cardboard, its low cost first foray into the world of VR.

The headset, which costs just a few pounds and is made of cardboard is a build-it-yourself set of goggles which contains the user's android smartphone.

Cardboard uses the smartphone's display, with a special app to show 3D images and to split the video stream into stereo channels.

Google's development team have hinted that Cardboard is only the beginning and the firm's chief executive recently told us to expect more from Google in the VR arena in 2016

To date, more than five million units of the cardboard viewers have been shipped worldwide and more than 25 million cardboard apps have been installed from Google Play, the Android app store.

Earlier this year, the firm posted a number of job adverts dedicated to consumer VR hardware.

In an interview with Time magazine, head of development for the Cardboard project, Clay Bavor, alluded to the future iterations of Google's VR.

'The amazing thing about Cardboard is that it's truly VR for everyone with a smartphone,' he told the magazine.

GOOGLE'S LOW-TECH VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET Google last year revealed a bizarre low-tech toy - a virtual reality headset made of cardboard. The gadget was given out to attendees at the firm's annual developer conference, and can also be created at home. It uses a mobile phones as the display, with a special app to show 3D images and video. The 'cardboard' gadget was passed to attendees when they left the firm's keynote, which revealed new version of android for phones, TVs, cars and watches. 'With your phone and a piece of Cardboard you can see some pretty amazing stuff,' the firm said. 'We want everyone to experience virtual reality in a simple, fun, and inexpensive way.' 'Virtual reality has made exciting progress over the past several years,' it continued. 'However, developing for VR still requires expensive, specialized hardware,' Google said on the project's page. Head of Google's Cardboard development team said in a recent interview that the entry level device is 'not the end of the line' and hinted that Google are working on bigger and better iterations of VR devices Advertisement

'We think there's something powerful and important in that. Is that the end of the line? Of course it's not the end of the line.

'I think if you imagine the types of things that a company with the ambition and the technical resources and the know-how of Google would be working on, we're working on a lot of those things.'