A Guide to Mobile VR: Google Daydream

This is the only mobile-based virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) that is not yet out, but oh boy is it anticipated. The Google Daydream View HMD might be one of the most advanced mobile headsets on the market, which is somewhat ironic as Google started out with the Google Cardboard, going straight from 0 to 100.

Phone compatibility

This is the most limiting factor about this mobile HMD, however it isn’t something that should put you off of it. Daydream is only compatible with Daydream-ready phones, much like the Gear VR with Samsung Galaxy phones.

The first to be released was by Google itself, and it is not just a phone made for Daydream, but a device made to pose a real challenge for Samsung Galaxy and iPhone smartphones: the Google Pixel. It has even been tagged as the phone that iPhone users can finally switch to if they don’t want to follow Apple and support their domination of the phone market.

Design

The design is nothing like we have seen – no sleek plastic design, nor cardboard, but instead it has been designed in the way that it could actually go with what you’re wearing. Whether or not you believe this is true to your style, this is the theme that Google has taken for the whole of the HMD. The material is not only designed to fit aesthetically, but also physically with its main body not being a hard shell like all of the other HMDs.

Its practicality stretches to even how everything is stored, as there isn’t only space for the mobile phone, but also for the controller that comes with it.

Accessories

Accessories are not much of a necessity for Daydream, and not only because it is too basic to warrant some. Daydream comes with its own controller, which has 9 degrees of freedom (DoF), meaning that it is a pretty reliable and responsive motion controller. As explained above, it fits perfectly with the HMD itself as it has its own little space along in the phone compartment, so there is no need to worry about additional bits of tech to elevate your overall experience.

Type of Content

Even though this is a mobile VR device, don’t let this trick you into thinking that the experiences will be second-rate compared to that of PC and console. You could say that an HMD is only as good as its content, and judging by the upcoming releases Daydream is great.

When Daydream was announced, it was clear that there were more than a handful of notable studios that had gotten on board with developing for the HMD, including CCP Games, Warner Bros. and Climax Studios – including its own content from Google itself. These partners were shared both at the reveal event for the HMD, as well as at the more recent event, and there will no doubt be many more studios and videogames to get on board.

How much does it cost?

Google Daydream is of course nowhere near the cheapness of its predecessor, but it comes in at a healthy and respectable $79 (USD), and is set to come out before we see this year out by November 2016.