Daydream is Google’s VR platform of the future



Google now has a mobile virtual reality platform. It's called Daydream, and it's built on top of Android N. That means it's not going to compete with the likes of the PC-powered HTC Vive or Oculus Rift (at least not yet, anyway), but looks much more powerful than Cardboard and represents a huge step in the push to advance VR out of its early stages.



From the sound of it, Daydream is a lot like Android for VR. It's a backbone of software inside Android N (simply known as "VR Mode") that provides users with an entire ecosystem to play around in. There will be a home screen with apps (which looks a lot like the Gear VR's home screen, to be honest), and Google has apparently already created special VR versions of its own apps like YouTube, Street View, the Google Play Store, Play Movies, and Google Photos. Other companies, like The New York Times, HBO, Netflix, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts are already developing for Daydream as well.



The biggest limitation for Daydream seems to be that it will only work on new phones that have special sensors and screens. Google says that those Daydream-ready phones will be available this fall, and that we can expect to see them from Samsung, HTC, LG, Huawei, and more. The company is also releasing reference designs for headsets as a way of encouraging phonemakers to get on board with the platform.