Along with the Pixel phone, Google announced some other red-hot tech in San Francisco this morning, one of which being their very own VR headset, Daydream VR. Unlike the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Daydream relies simply on a smartphone, rather than a pricey as shit PC.
And look, mobile VR isn’t a new concept either. Samsung‘s GearVR has been around for a little while now and so has Google Cardboard, so what’s the difference? Well for starters, Cardboard was always the poor man’s VR, so that answer is pretty obvious, but unlike GearVR, Daydream isn’t exclusively for the newly announced Pixel, it will be compatible with a number of smartphones that can be deemed “Daydream ready”.
Once a Daydream ready smartphone is placed in the headset’s cradle, the devices automatically connect wirelessly, allowing you to jump straight into some VR action as soon as you place it on your head. As the owner of an Oculus Rift, I can tell you that this is indeed, the dream. Having to deal with a spaghetti bowl of cables every time I wanna conduct some virtual nonsense is a real pain in the dick.
I got the opportunity to try out one of these bad boys at the announcement this morning and to my surprise, it’s actually good! The head tracking is spot on and the visuals are crisp by VR standards, keeping in mind that all VR is still fairly low from a resolution standpoint. You still won’t get the ultra high end experience you’d expect from the Oculus or Vive, but for $AU119 (plus the cost of a Daydream ready smartphone), it’s an exceptionally great starting point for those who want to get into it.
The launch titles look pretty schmick, too. I got try a fun little game where I had to tilt a table to guide a ball around a track using the Daydream remote, as well as the Harry Potter feature – Fantastic Beasts, where the remote becomes the wand. Wingardium Leviosa, motherfucker.
After the announcement, I was invited back to Google’s San Francisco satellite office to speak to the product manager of their VR division, Mike Jazayeri, about the Daydream and its features.
Like the Pixel itself, the Daydream headset addresses many of the pain points of current VR experiences. No cables, it’s instantly ready to go once the phone is inserted, simple controls, comparatively very cheap, lightweight and comfortable. Mike says reducing these pain points was definitely a goal during development.
“For us it was every step of the way – what are the reasons [more people don’t use VR]? What’s the waterfall? What’s everything in the flow that’s gonna make someone say ‘hmm, it’s just a little too much for me,’” he said.
Controls in VR are also important. Using a gamepad is something that can really tie you back to the real world and dampen the immersion. That’s why it’s important to bring your hands into the experience. I asked Mike about this and whether there were any plans to add a second remote or control for both hands.
“What you’ll see once you try a lot of the software is that some developers – with the controller – they will have an equivalent virtual one. It could look like a controller or it could be the tool in that particular app that’s appropriate – a bat, you’ll see a wand in fantastic beast, so they will use that which creates a little more immersion,” he said.
In terms of a second controller, Mike says it’s more about simplicity and minimising the aspects that might turn people away from VR. “We wanna reach the masses with this,” he said.
“The first time someone enters VR, there’s a lot of new things going on. You got this thing on your face, you’re in virtual reality, there’s things to learn and we’ve tried to keep this as simple as possible. Introducing a second thing that you also have to kinda think about, we thought was kind of a little too far.”
In terms of what phones will be deemed Daydream ready, I was told that it all comes down to specifications – as long as it can properly handle the technical weight of VR, they can certainly be certified by Google. Don’t hold your breath on any of the current iPhones though, their refresh rate is simply not high enough at the moment.
The headset will be available in Australia in November.
Photo: James Martin/CNET.
