Google is expanding its virtual reality (VR) ambitions with a new system called Daydream, which encompasses a range of VR-capable Android smartphones, a headset design, a controller and applications.
The Alphabet Inc subsidiary will release Daydream this fall, Google vice president of virtual reality Clay Bavor said at the firm’s I/O developer conference near its Silicon Valley headquarters on Wednesday.
“Daydream is our platform for high-quality mobile virtual reality,” Bavor said. “What that means for developers is there are going to be a lot of Daydream ready phones.”
Companies including Samsung Electronics Co, Alcatel-Lucent SA, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), HTC Corp (宏達電), Huawei Technologies Co (華為), LG Electronics Co and Xiaomi Corp (小米) are building phones compatible with Daydream specifications, Bavor said, adding that several will be ready this fall.
The company is working with companies like Netflix Inc, CNN and HBO to build new applications for Daydream, he said.
It is also rewriting Google’s own software, including Photos, Google Play Movies, Street View and YouTube, to work with the system.
Along with that, Google has created a new controller to help people interact with the VR software and content.
Rivals like Facebook Inc and companies such as HTC and Samsung produced their own high-end standalone devices, betting that better graphics and precision would encourage people to shell out several hundred dollars for their own devices, versus as low as US$15 for Google’s Cardboard.
With Daydream, Google is taking on rivals using a similar strategy to the way it has used Android to compete with Apple Inc in smartphones — build great software, marry that to cheaper hardware and then attach it to an ecosystem populated by developers.
Daydream headsets will be significantly under-powered compared with high-end devices, like Facebook’s Oculus and HTC’s Vive. However, they will also be more accessible, given the high prices and supply constraints of the more sophisticated devices. Today, it is hard to get your hands on a premium VR headset, even if you are willing to drop the US$1,500 or so needed for the headset and corresponding computers.
Google did not discuss any specific pricing, and Cardboard devices have been priced differently by different partners, but Daydream will probably be far cheaper.
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