This week, Google announced Daydream, their official foray into high-end mobile VR. I’ve been heads down working on my own VR projects, so although I was excited to see what Google would announce, and read synopses, the true scale of Google’s announcement didn’t hit me at first. But after the announcement stewed for a few days and I had a chance to watch the I/O talks (available here), I realized that I had just witnessed the single largest VR announcement since the Facebook acquisition of Oculus.

For those who might have missed it, Google essentially announced a smartphone and HMD hardware standard that runs a VR operating system built directly into the newest version of Andriod, the headset component of which comes bundled with a motion controller.

Let’s unpack that a bit. First is Google’s Daydream hardware standard, which assigns “Daydream Ready” status to any smartphone running up to the high specs of VR. This is great, because it ensures multiple hardware vendors can get into high-quality VR, and consumers can know which phones will support the experience. But at a systems level, this is huge. Google has thrown its considerable weight behind VR, saying “if you want your customers to experience VR, your phones need to at least hit this bar”. Because of this, the vast majority of Android smartphones will now be built for VR. Before, the smartphones could be adapted for VR, but now, increasing, smartphone hardware will be driven forward with VR as a high priority. If you doubt manufacturers will put VR readiness as a high priority, you havn’t seen a room of VR virgins passing around a GearVR. Those without VR capable smartphones will be in the “not cool” crowd.

This is doubly huge considering Google’s VR team is working directly with the Android team to support their VR OS at every level of the software stack. We’re talking about the largest computer platform in the world now being built and optimized for VR. There are billions of people with Android phones. Within 5 years, it’s likely that most of those people will have upgraded to a Daydream Ready phone, and as we’ve seen with GearVR the cost of the actual headset is a fraction of the phone cost. In “the first world”, those upgrades will come even faster (2–3 years). What this means is that within 3–5 years there will be well over a billion VR Ready computers, with the actual VR headset well within cost parameters.

Some of you might be saying “well, it’s only mobile VR, desktop VR will still be better”. However, that ignores the hugely compelling experience Google has put together by including a motion controller. Not only can you experience a visual fidelity comparable to desktop VR, but you can now interact with mobile VR in a way that approaches the experience of Vive controllers. No, their controller is not perfectly 1:1 tracked. However, it provides a much closer approximation than Wii controllers. I havn’t had a chance to try it for myself yet, but from listening to game developers who have had experience with it, it seems that it’s enough to trick your brain and induce presence, while feeling like a natural input that even non-gamers can enjoy. My guess is that they’re using radar technology from Project Soli to get the controller’s orientation, but for now Google’s playing that card close to their chest. A good motion controller was the missing piece for mobile VR, and it’s only going to get better. Also keep in mind that unlike desktop VR, mobile VR is completely wireless, allowing more freedom of movement.

Another area that mobile VR lacks is positional tracking, which allows you to actually move your head through a space rather than being stuck to the same viewpoint. For now, Daydream does not have positional tracking. However, it was mentioned that the Google Project Tango team and VR team were in the same building, hinting that the two teams are working closely together. It’s not a question of IF Daydream will have inside-out positional tracking, it’s a question of when. I would be extremely surprised if Google didn’t crack that problem within 5 years, considering recent strides in machine learning and computer vision. It’s even possible that Google’s smartphone will have a 3D scanner (oh yeah, the software platform is open but Google mentioned they would be debuting their first ever smartphone as a Daydream phone).

So we’re looking at a world 5 years from now where over a billion people have mobile VR with inside-out tracking and motion controls. That’s a huge fucking deal.