Google Daydream VR will say goodbye to smartphones as it will soon become a standalone VR. The new platform is currently on the works and the new VR is scheduled to come out later this year via HTC and Lenovo.
Google has announced its plan to turn its Daydream VR into a new platform based on standalone headsets, equipped with positional tracking. The announcement was done via Google I/O session yesterday.
New #Daydream standalone headsets from partners like @htcvive won't require a phone or PC. #io17 pic.twitter.com/7TpYPJGEdU
— Google (@Google) May 17, 2017
The report also details the new platform based on standalone headsets is now being developed. The "reference design" is currently being developed by Qualcomm.
Moreover, Qualcomm is expected to complete the reference design for the new platform soon so as to comply with the end 2017 release. Google has rewarded HTC and Lenovo to distribute the finished products by the end of the year.
With the pursuit to create a greatly improved device, Google was motivated to develop the standalone VR headset. Clay Bavor, Google VP for VR, detailed that the project stemmed from the question "How can we take the best parts of smartphone VR and create a kind of device with an even better experience?"
Clay Bavor teased that the upcoming standalone Daydream VR headsets will come equipped with "everything built right in." The new VR will no longer require cables and phone. Furthermore, it will be more convenient as it will no longer require connection with the bulky PC, Arstechnica reported.
Interestingly, Clay Bavor also teased that the new VR headsets will run with "dramatically improved tracking" that uses multiple sensors in the device, instead of utilizing an external camera. This feature is made possible via the technology called "Worldsense," which allows the user to actually feel being part of the virtual world as the view appears like the real world in excellent accuracy.
At Google's I/O developer conference, it was mentioned that a Daydream VR user allots 40 minutes a week, on the average. With the promise of the upcoming standalone Google VR to be more "friction free," users may be able to use the new VR with a longer time period, Cnet noted.
Meanwhile, HTC has also confirmed to release the new Daydream VR headset. The announcement did not reveal many details except for the model name, "Vive Standalone," and the descriptions — "simplistic, lightweight and portable."
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