The headset, which the company will reveal tomorrow morning [Tuesday] in San Francisco, will likely cost $79, Variety reported Monday. The headset will be manufactured by HTC, the same company rumored to be making the Pixel and Pixel XL, a pair of phones Google is also expected to unveil Tuesday, according to Variety.
The new headset underscores the tech community's growing interest in virtual reality, which promises to transport goggle-wearing users to a computer-generated 3D environment. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is said to be investing big money on content for the platform, much of it going toward development of video games and apps, licensing sports leagues and shooting 360-degree videos.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Google Ships Pixel 4 Without Daydream VR Support, Stops Selling Daydream Viewer
Google is effectively phasing out its Daydream virtual reality (VR) platform: The company's latest flagship Pixel 4 flagship phone, which Google unveiled at a press event in New York Tuesday, won't support Google's Daydream mobile VR platform anymore, a spokesperson confirmed to Variety.
[...] "We saw a lot of potential in smartphone VR—being able to use the smartphone you carry with you everywhere to power an immersive on-the-go experience," Google's spokesperson explained. "But over time we noticed some clear limitations constraining smartphone VR from being a viable long-term solution. Most notably, asking people to put their phone in a headset and lose access to the apps they use throughout the day causes immense friction."
Google launched Daydream in 2016 as the company's answer to Samsung's Gear VR headset. It allowed consumers to access VR simply by putting their phone into the cloth-covered Daydream viewer. However, support for Daydream had always been limited to just a few phones, including Google's own Pixel phones. Without support from key industry players, usage remained low.
Also at Wccftech.
Previously:
Google's Daydream VR Headset Reported to Cost $79
HTC Cancels U.S. Release of a Google Daydream VR Headset, Reveals Own Standalone Headset
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @03:25PM
I want an affordable, translucent, monocular display that I can use in a wearable computing solution.
NOT something that will prevent me walking, driving, working machinery.
NOT something that will do all the fancy GPS gyroscopic accelerometer facial recognition AR tricks.
NOT something that will try to fake up reality.
Just a simple display that will display a standard screen. On which I could run a browser and a few SSH sessions. Something that I can use in a meeting without checking out. Something that I can sit back and use comfortably, no desk needed.
You want ubiquitous computing, Alphagoogle? Start there.
First-person-only VR is for electrowankers. Wearable computing is still the big win, waiting for you to win it.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @04:01PM
I want direct connection to the visual cortex, at least 2 channel audio implants, and dopamine injectors for an immersive VR experience.
(Score: 3, Funny) by ilPapa on Tuesday October 04 2016, @04:31PM
I want some cinnamon toast.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday October 04 2016, @04:37PM
Google glass was supposed to be that but as usual, Google lost interest in that project.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @04:55PM
No. Google Glass wasn't supposed to be anything like that.
It didn't have a generic interface that one could connect to an arbitrary wearable solution.
It had that really stupid camera add-on.
It had its own display logic trying to act like a smartphone screen.
It had that stupid voice recognition thing.
It was a platform, not a display. It was bound to Android, used a lousy display resolution, incorporated irrelevances such as Bluetooth, gyroscope, accelerometer.
If they had just stuck to a simple, straightforward HDMI cable going down to a belt mounted or pocket mounted wearable device, they would have been golden. But no ...
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 04 2016, @06:45PM
Can't you simulate that for testing purposes by buying a pirates eyepatch and a Wyse-55 serial terminal with a really long keyboard extension cable?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday October 04 2016, @03:27PM
That probably won't be the name of the headset since it is the name of the "platform":
https://vr.google.com/daydream/ [google.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 04 2016, @06:42PM
Its the $15 viewmaster VR bundled with a bluetooth wii controller-ish thingy for $70 or $80. the article is helpfully unclear. Probably $10 shipping.
I have the viewmaster VR and used it with my nexus 6p for at least an hour before I tired of it. At $15/hour that's not ridiculous but not cheap either. Everything I found that was 3-d was pretty gimmicky and the 3-d didn't add anything fundamental.
I'm pretty well unimpressed.
https://www.cnet.com/news/google-pixel-phones-daydream-view-and-chromecast-ultra-everything-google-just-announced/ [cnet.com]
Daydream is a rebranded cardboard viewer, not a complete headset or self contained display.
I found the viewmaster product a huge PITA to use, because unlike apparently 99% of the population, my phone lives in a case and there's a Qi charger receiver plugged into it so when marketing says "yer phone just drops in, in seconds!" they mean after 15 minutes of disassembly and parts laying everywhere, THEN my phone just drops in.
The problem with cardboard-class VR is no bandwidth into the machine other than turning head and maybe a 1 bit pushbutton if you're lucky. Sucks. Imagine minecraft. Or "The Room" (A classic phone puzzle/fidget game). Or even Pokemon Go (Remember that fad from months ago?) None of that can happen with a literal 1-bit UI of there's a pushbutton that sometimes works on some peoples cardboard.. There's some interesting 360 google earth panoramas you can scroll around but to be honest its easier to go "2d mode" and scroll around on the phone without turning your head etc because the UI sucks. There are also a handful of youtube videos and 99.9% of youtube being garbage and there being less than a thousand videos, well, you do the math on that one.
Imagine if your favorite video game system were re-released with a UI consisting of ... a single pushbutton. Makes 1975 "pong" look exotic and high tech in comparison. (Whoa man, a dial...)
(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Tuesday October 04 2016, @07:05PM
thanks for the review - I have a Nexus 6P and have not had time to "try VR".
Guess I'll wait another year....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @11:14PM
They haven't simply repackaged 2 year old technology!
"and maybe a 1 bit pushbutton if you're lucky. "
You obviously haven't read up on Daydream..... doh!