Google has launched the hardware part of Project Daydream, it’s move into the world of virtual reality (VR). Daydream View, as the headset is known, works only with the latest Google Pixel phones, but comes at the low price of just £69.
Just like Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard Daydream View works by slotting in a phone into it – in this case, only Google’s brand new Pixel phones are supported. Open up the front, slide in the phone, close it, and you’re done. The Pixel automatically senses that it’s “docked” in the Daydream View and you place the headset on your head to begin the VR experience.
Daydream isn’t as sophisticated as a Gear VR, as there’s no electronics in it – no additional sensors and no buttons. Instead, Daydream is designed for comfort with soft fabrics and a design which is meant to accommodate users with glasses. It weighs less than 200g without the phone, too, which makes it less heavy than the average headset.
Instead, all the cleverness is in the phone and the controller which comes with it. The controller is packed full of motion sensors which, Google claimed, makes it capable of detecting extremely precise movements – so precise, in fact, that you can use it to sign your name. Although the controller isn’t positionally tracked, as the HTC Vive’s controllers are, it should be accurate enough to approximate hand movements for most purposes.
It’s this controller which gives the Daydream View a big advantage over other low-cost headsets like Gear VR and Google’s own Cardboard. And importantly it opens up plenty of options for developers too. Onstage, Google demoed a new game based on JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which lets you play as a wizard, using the controller as a wand in-game. The company also demoed VR in YouTube, Google Street View and announced that Hulu, HBO and Netflix will all be available in Daydream app form.
Overall, Daydream View looks like an interesting and low-cost entry into consumer VR, and adds an extra reason to take a look at the Pixel phones for your next Android device.