Newsletter
While firms like Oculus as well as Valve have been pushing for the highest-quality and most immersive virtual reality solutions they can come up with, Google has been trying their best to make the new technology not only accessible to everyone, but affordable, too. This all started with Google Cardboard, which was there way of experimenting with virtual reality using a smartphone as the display, which as it turns out, works pretty well. Samsung partnered with Oculus on the Gear VR, and there’s now the Daydream View, the new headset from Google that brings us the final product version of Cardboard; Daydream. Part of what made Cardboard so appealing was that the focus wasn’t on gaming, but more the sort of immersive experiences that a virtual reality headset could be a substitute for, and it looks like this is going to be continue with Daydream, too.
One of those experiences tied in to Google’s own Street View, which can be accessed on your phone and the web to get a look at an area with high-quality photos and such. Street View has always been a 360-degree experience, but dragging around with your finger, as opposed to simply moving your head in the direction you want to look doesn’t quite have the same sort of appeal. Now, Google has updated the Street View app with support for Daydream. Given that there are so few of these headsets in the hands of users right now, it’s hard to say exactly what the experience is like, but it’s likely to be similar to the Cardboard implementation was. Compatible with only the Pixel and Pixel XL right now, only those that have the right phone and pre-ordered the $79 headset are likely to be able to give this a go.
As always, the update to Street View might take some time to reach everyone, but it’s on its way to people right now. Users can click the Play Store button below if you want to give it a try and see if the update is live, or to install Street View for the first time. It’s nice to see Google updating one of their own apps with Daydream support pretty quickly, as it sets a good example for others, and over time we might have more Daydream content than we ultimately know what to do with.