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Daydream

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Daydream
Information
Type Virtual Reality
Subtype Mobile VR
Creator Clay Bavor
Developer Google
Operating System Android (Nougat 7.1 and later)
Devices Daydream View, Lenovo Mirage Solo
Accessories Daydream Controller
Release Date November 10, 2016
Price $79 (Daydream View, 2016)
Website Google Daydream

Daydream (also Google Daydream) was a mobile virtual reality platform developed by Google. It was built into Android starting with version 7.1 (Nougat) and combined software, certified "Daydream-ready" smartphones, head-mounted viewers, and a motion controller into a single system.[1] Google's head of VR, Clay Bavor, unveiled it during the opening keynote of Google I/O 2016 on May 18, 2016, and positioned it as the higher-quality successor to Google Cardboard, which remained the company's low-cost entry option.[2][3]

Daydream was not widely adopted by consumers or developers. Google stopped selling the Daydream View headset and declined to certify its Pixel 4 phone for the platform in October 2019, and support was removed from the operating system with Android 11 in 2020.[4][5]

Platform and software

Daydream was built into Android itself rather than delivered only through individual apps, the approach Google Cardboard used. Android Nougat added a dedicated "VR Mode" that, according to Google, cut motion-to-photon latency from around 100 milliseconds on Android Marshmallow to less than 20 milliseconds, the threshold generally cited for comfortable head tracking.[1][2] Only phones certified as Daydream-ready met the hardware requirements for that mode.

The home environment, Daydream Home, was the launcher and storefront from which users opened VR apps. Google also shipped first-party experiences including YouTube VR, Google Street View, Google Play Movies & TV, and Photos, and opened the platform to third-party developers in January 2017.[1] Daydream Cast allowed a user to mirror the VR view to a nearby screen, and Daydream Share handled capture and sharing of in-headset content.

App requirements

To appear in Daydream Home, an app had to meet a set of quality requirements published by Google in its developer guidelines:[6]

  1. Performance: maintain 60 FPS during play sessions on a Daydream-ready phone.
  2. Never fall back to 2D: the app must be usable without removing the phone from the viewer and must avoid triggering 2D permission dialog boxes in VR.
  3. Stay in landscape mode when rotated.
  4. Use immersive full-screen mode (no system bars).
  5. Let users focus on elements: avoid placing objects so close that they cause double vision (under 0.5 m becomes problematic).
  6. Maintain head tracking: keep updating the display based on motion, even during a scene load.
  7. Keep a stable horizon line if one is visible.
  8. Make camera movement user-initiated.
  9. Honestly represent content in descriptions and screenshots.
  10. Use the Daydream Controller.
  11. Include a VR icon.
  12. Include a 360 photosphere screenshot, used in the VR version of the Google Play store.

Hardware

Daydream View

The first Daydream View is a slide-on viewer into which a user drops a Daydream-ready phone, which acts as the display and processor; the headset's lenses split the phone screen into a stereoscopic image. Google announced it on October 4, 2016 at its Made by Google event alongside the Pixel phones, and released it on November 10, 2016 for $79 in the United States.[7] Unlike Google Cardboard, which works with most phones, the View functioned only with certified models. It was made from a soft, breathable fabric that Google said made it lighter than comparable plastic headsets, and it could be worn over glasses. The viewer launched in a Slate color, with Crimson and Snow added in December 2016.[1]

A second-generation Daydream View was released on October 19, 2017 for $99, in Charcoal, Fog, and Coral.[8] It added an over-the-head strap for support, lenses with a wider field of view, and a front cover designed to dissipate heat better than the first model.[9]

Daydream Controller

The Daydream Controller is a small handheld remote with a clickable touchpad, a home button, an app button, volume controls, and a status light. It tracks orientation only, giving three degrees of freedom (3DoF), so it can sense the way it is pointed and tilted but not its position in space. It recharges over USB-C and stores inside the Daydream View viewer when not in use.[2][1]

Daydream-ready phones

Daydream-ready phones are Android handsets with the sensors, display, and processing Google required for low-latency VR. They act as both the display and the processor for the headset, so a phone that is not certified cannot run the platform.[1] The launch devices were the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL. Certified models later included:

Google said eight manufacturers had committed to building Daydream-ready phones: Samsung, HTC, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Asus, and Alcatel.[1]

Lenovo Mirage Solo

The Lenovo Mirage Solo was the first and only standalone Daydream headset, meaning it ran the platform on built-in hardware with no phone required. Lenovo announced it at CES 2018 on January 9 and released it in May 2018 for $399.[10][11] It used a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, a 2560 x 1440 LCD panel, and a stated battery life of about seven hours.[12] It shipped with the standard 3DoF Daydream Controller.[10]

The Mirage Solo was the first device to use Google WorldSense, Google's inside-out positional tracking system. WorldSense used on-board cameras and sensors derived from Google's Project Tango depth-sensing work to give the headset six degrees of freedom (6DoF), letting the wearer physically lean and step within a small area rather than only look around from a fixed point.[10][12] Because the bundled controller still tracked only orientation, Google demonstrated experimental 6DoF controllers for the Mirage Solo but never shipped them commercially.[13]

Reception and decline

Reviewers generally rated the Daydream View viewers as comfortable and among the better phone-based headsets, but the platform competed against Samsung's Gear VR and, increasingly, against standalone headsets such as the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest that did not require giving up a phone.[8][4] Content support eroded through 2019: HBO discontinued its Daydream apps and Hulu dropped support, and Google had already ended its own Play Movies & TV app for the platform in June 2019.[4][14]

On October 15, 2019, at its Made by Google event, Google confirmed that the new Pixel 4 would not be certified for Daydream and that it had stopped selling the Daydream View, though it said the app would keep working for existing users. A Google spokesperson said, "There hasn't been the broad consumer or developer adoption we had hoped, and we've seen decreasing usage over time of the Daydream View headset." The company also pointed to a structural problem with phone-based VR: "asking people to put their phone in a headset and lose access to the apps they use throughout the day causes immense friction."[4][15]

Google removed Daydream software support from the operating system with Android 11, released in 2020; on devices running Android 11 or later the app is no longer supported and may not work.[5] In February 2021 the Daydream Play Store and in-VR app discovery were shut down, briefly cutting off downloads before some access was restored.[16] The Daydream View and its controller can still function as a basic VR viewer in the manner of Google Cardboard.[5]

History

Date Event
May 18, 2016 Daydream platform announced by Clay Bavor at Google I/O 2016[2]
October 4, 2016 Daydream View (1st generation) announced at the Made by Google event[7]
November 10, 2016 Daydream View (1st generation) released for $79[7]
January 2017 Platform opened to third-party developers[1]
October 19, 2017 Daydream View (2nd generation) released for $99[8]
January 9, 2018 Lenovo Mirage Solo announced at CES 2018, the first standalone Daydream headset with WorldSense[10]
May 2018 Lenovo Mirage Solo released for $399[11]
October 15, 2019 Daydream View discontinued; Pixel 4 not certified[4]
2020 Android 11 drops Daydream support[5]
February 2021 Daydream Play Store and in-VR app discovery shut down[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Google Daydream". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Daydream.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Google's Mobile VR Platform is Daydream And It Comes With A Motion Controller". 2016-05-18. https://uploadvr.com/google-daydream/.
  3. ↑ "Google's Daydream VR Announced, May Launch November". 2016-05-18. https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/google-vr-daydream/.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Google Discontinues Daydream View Headset, Pixel 4 Won't Support". 2019-10-15. https://www.roadtovr.com/google-puts-final-nail-daydream-coffin-discontinues-view-headset/.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Google drops support for Daydream VR with Android 11". 2020-10-02. https://9to5google.com/2020/10/02/google-daydream-vr/.
  6. ↑ "Daydream developer setup and prerequisites". https://developers.google.com/vr/concepts/dev-kit-setup#prerequisites.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Google Announces November 10 Release Date for Daydream View VR Headset, Price Set for $79". 2016-11-01. https://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Google/vr/Virtual_Reality/price/daydream/daydream-view/pixel/mobile/Android/Release_Dates/google-announces-november-10-release-date-for-daydream-view-vr-headset-price-set-for-79/36280.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Google Daydream View (2017) Review: Small Changes Make a Big Impact". 2017-10-19. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/google-daydream-view,review-4960.html.
  9. ↑ "Google's Second-Gen Daydream View VR HMD Is A Bigger Improvement Than It First Appears". 2017-10-04. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-daydream-view-vr-headset-refresh,35690.html.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Google's first WorldSense VR headset, the Lenovo Mirage Solo, ships in Q2 for under $400". 2018-01-09. https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/09/googles-first-worldsense-vr-headset-the-lenovo-mirage-solo-ships-in-q2-for-under-400/.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Lenovo Mirage Solo VR headset listing reveals price and May release date". 2018-04-13. https://www.techradar.com/news/lenovo-mirage-solo-vr-headset-listing-reveals-price-and-may-release-date.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Lenovo Finally Details Its Standalone Daydream VR HMD, The Mirage Solo". 2018-01-09. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/lenovo-mirage-solo-vr-daydream-standalone,36258.html.
  13. ↑ "Google Reveals Experimental 6DOF Controllers for Lenovo Mirage Solo". 2018-05-08. https://www.roadtovr.com/google-reveals-experimental-6dof-controllers-lenovo-mirage-solo/.
  14. ↑ "Google's Daydream is over - the VR platform is dead". 2021-02-09. https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/02/09/googles-daydream-is-over-the-vr-platform-is-dead/.
  15. ↑ "Google Daydream View VR Headset Has Officially Been Discontinued". 2019-10-15. https://www.slashgear.com/google-daydream-view-vr-headset-has-officially-been-discontinued-15595668/.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Daydream Play Store, VR app discovery shuts down". 2021-02-15. https://9to5google.com/2021/02/15/google-daydream-play-store/.
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