New #Daydream
standalone headsets from partners like @htcvive won't require a phone or PC.
Google I / O is a platform for developers, enthusiasts and journalist to learn about what's next from the company, and this year's event continued many of the trends that Google kicked off in 2016: virtual reality, with the unveiling of Daydream 2.0 and
standalone headsets from HTC and Lenovo.
However, the latest Daydream headset had largely been overshadowed in 2017 by news of
standalone headsets from various companies, including Google.
Not exact matches
The
headset is sold in several different bundle configurations ranging, in the US at least,
from the $ 500 Launch Bundle to the now discounted
standalone headset at $ 290.
From Sunday, February 18 through Saturday, March 3, 2018, PS VR
standalone headsets and bundles will start at $ 199.99 (MSRP).
«That's why we're building Firefox Reality, a new kind of Web browser that has been designed
from the ground up to work on
standalone virtual and augmented reality (or mixed reality)
headsets,» he added.
The company says the Focus is positioned as the premium option among the incoming wave of
standalone headsets; of course, premium features are never far
from premium price.
Aside
from their own booth, the company's partners were showing off the latest and greatest hardware, and that included Lenovo with the world's first
standalone Daydream VR
headset.
Google's Daydream VR is set to take on a big new project this year with the debut of
standalone headsets, and that starts with the Mirage Solo
from Lenovo.
That's even in presence of the Lenovo Mirage Solo
headset that was initially announced last year during Google's Fall event where it announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, though at the time it was only known that a
headset from Lenovo would be coming and that it would be based on Daydream, and be a
standalone offering.
Google's platform, called Daydream
Standalone, allows multiple manufacturers to build
headsets free
from using your phone as a brain.
The
headset is different
from Google's Daydream VR platform, as that is said to be merely the stepping stone into the bigger hardware push presented by the
standalone headset.
The company's
standalone Daydream
headsets will free users
from their smartphones.
The additional details on Google's
standalone headset comes right after a The Drum report focused on a «wireless virtual reality» device which received approval
from the FCC.
The adapter will be able to untether you and your
headset from your PC with latency as low as 2ms and a
standalone battery that lasts around 90 minutes.
What Facebook didn't describe: the graphical fidelity or battery life to expect
from a $ 199
standalone headset.
From a smarter Google Assistant that now works with the iPhone to a chattier Google Home and the promise of
standalone virtual reality
headsets, this year's I / O conference had something for everyone.
The PlayStation blog posted yesterday that the
standalone PS VR
headset price will receive a discount
from its normal $ 299.99 price tag.
With the
headset, Microsoft says, everything
from gaming, through streaming media in apps like Netflix, to productivity apps, Skype video calling, or even creating virtual 3D objects in the new HoloStudio app - think Paint for the 21st century - are possible in a full
standalone wearable computer.
Both of those prices seem high, especially since the Oculus Go, another phone - free
standalone VR
headset from Facebook, is coming soon for half the price ($ 200).
Should the Vive Focus release outside of China, it will face competition
from the likes of Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream View, Project Santa Cruz and the Lenovo Mirage Solo, which is the first
standalone Daydream
headset.
The
standalone Daydream virtual reality (VR)
headset from Lenovo called Mirage Solo and the company's Mirage VR180 camera are now available for pre-orders
from the B&H.
Not for your Galaxy Gear VRs, but for the HTC Vive and certainly for the new
standalone headset for Daydream
from HTC.
I've tried a couple of
standalone headset prototypes in the past few years
from VR start - up companies hoping to stand out.
Intel isn't letting the Virtual Reality revolution getting away
from it, but since it really wants to sell more chips, its Project Alloy
headset packs a full VR rig into a
standalone system.
In fact, a recent report
from December 24th it's now rumored that Lenovo's
standalone Daydream
headset will be launching in the first half of 2018, though there is still no official release date that's been mentioned by the company so it could be anytime between the beginning of the year and the beginning of the Summer.
Stories: — Google Home gets free hands - free calling, notifications, Bluetooth support and more — Galaxy S8 gets Daydream «soon»,
standalone Google VR
headsets coming
from HTC and Lenovo — Google Assistant wears Google Lens, takes more Actions on Google — Android Go features lightened Google apps, OS for markets that need it
Looks like brands are preferring Samsung's Exynos chipsets over solutions
from other brands in their
standalone VR
headsets.
Using technology
from the Tango project, he new
standalone headsets will come with WorldSense, a positional tracking system with no need for any external cameras.
Before actual «
standalone» VR
headsets go on sale
from companies like Oculus, Samsung, Asus, HTC or Lenovo, requiring no high - end PC or smartphone link, your best shot at relatively affordable virtual reality immersion on the fly is still a Gear VR or Daydream View shell.
During last year's I / O conference, Google promised that
standalone Daydream VR
headsets will arrive
from its partners, one of which is Lenovo.
Unlike the Galaxy Gear, the Gear 2 series has a
standalone music player as well — you need to push songs
from your phone to your watch, which you can then connect to a Bluetooth
headset.
To make us feel better about that, Google adds «without the cost of the computer,» as if that's something we wouldn't expect
from a
standalone headset anyway.