Google's Daydream can make or break Android VR

Google announced Daydream at the recently concluded Google I/O developer event. Daydream is a controller for Android VR and it certainly has the potential to make or break the platform. But what is Daydream?

Daydream is a controller that is functionally and even aesthetically very similar to Apple’s Apple TV remote. While we don’t know exactly how it’ll work, Google says that a user will be able to use the controller to point at items in an augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) space and perform other gesture-based actions in the same environment. All this will be a part of the Android VR platform.

Oculus’ remote is also based on a similar concept, but is not as powerful as the Vive’s controllers. If Daydream is really as restrictive as the Apple remote or the Oculus remote, it may not be very ground-breaking for VR on mobile devices.

As far as anyone can tell, there’s no way to track the position of the device itself in space, though its orientation will be determined by accelerometers. Some games using the controller were demoed at I/O and at the very least, they seemed as capable as the Apple TV remote.

As gamers, we certainly expect more from the Android VR than a headset and virtual mouse. Positional tracking of both head and controller (maybe even multiple controllers) will easily take VR to the next level. Let’s hope that Google, or someone else, comes up with a viable alternative.

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