Variety's Janko Roettgers (a fellow GigaOM alum!) had the scoop last night, but now the official word is officially here:
Google has finally revealed the first headset to support it, Daydream View. The headset comes with a controller and launches in November for $79. The new device was revealed at the Made By Google conference in San Francisco today. As expected, Daydream View will run with any Daydream ready smartphone. That includes the two new smartphones Google itself revealed at the event – Pixel and the larger Pixel XL for $649.
Normally my first instinct is to be cranky about anything Google tries to do in the consumer product space, but I actually like the soft, cloth design, making Daydream look less like a high tech device and more like binoculars which happen to see into other worlds. But to me, the big news from this announcement isn't about Daydream per se, but where it fits into the broader ecosystem:
Daydream joins Samsung Gear as another VR device for Android phones -- while Apple doesn't really have anything compatible for its iPhone line. (We keep reading rumors that Apple is building some kind of AR/VR device, but doubtful that will hit the market this year.) So ultimately, these VR devices depend less on the market interested in virtual reality, and more on the market who already own/are looking to buy a high-end smartphone.
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Personally I cannot believe that design. I reminds me off an English BBC kids program, Blue Peter, where they would have a section where one of the presenters would show us kids how to make stuff like rockets etc from detergent bottles. They always used Sticky fabric to cover stuff. And this looks exactly like a couple of detergent bottles stuck together and covered with sticky fabric. Maybe they are trying for a more feminine look. It certainly kills dead any Cyberpunk Matrix type ideas of VR.
Posted by: JohnC | Wednesday, October 05, 2016 at 03:42 AM
The cloth is covering the cardboard. ;-)
Posted by: Thommy Boy | Wednesday, October 05, 2016 at 07:32 AM
I see so its a kind of low tech upgrade :)
Posted by: JohnC | Wednesday, October 05, 2016 at 01:04 PM
VR like a filter on your camera pics. And the kids will move on to the next shiny.
Posted by: Connie Arida | Thursday, October 06, 2016 at 02:05 AM