It is not Android VR. Finally, Google has called it Daydream, and it is Google's virtual reality platform for Android smartphones. The idea is to evolve a project that started with Cardboard, which was nothing more than cardboard, and lenses for less than 10 euros, to achieve something of a higher quality and with a better performance. That is Daydream. Of course, to use it, it will be necessary to have a better team.
From Cardboard to Daydream
Although the idea with Cardboard was that almost any user spending little money could have access to virtual reality, the truth is that in order to have a good virtual reality equipment it is necessary to have a better mobile. Virtual reality glasses are not so relevant. A priori, the key will be the smartphone. What Google has done is to establish a series of requirements so that mobiles can run Daydream, the new virtual reality mode, which will be already integrated into the new version of the operating system. Three elements will be key in smartphones: the processor, the screen and the sensors. On the one hand, the sensors will have to be enough to capture the movements of our head and be able to move the screen at the same rate. This will require image processing powerful enough to reach a latency of just 20 nanoseconds. The latency in Marshmallow was 100 nanoseconds, five times more. Obviously, a smartphone of a higher quality will be necessary. Even so, Google has also announced that it will launch virtual reality glasses with a remote control that will be optimized for this use. Its appearance does not seem to be that of very expensive glasses, although it is of a higher quality than the current Cardboard. At the moment, there is no more information about these.
In principle, a large number of manufacturers will have quality smartphones to be able to use Daydream, but we assume that it will be a platform that will be far from basic range mobiles. We are already starting to add features to mobiles that entry-level smartphones cannot run. It was clear that this was something the market needed. Basic mobiles were beginning to be as useful as advanced ones, and manufacturers don't like that. Now there is already a reason to buy a mobile of a higher level. However, Daydream is a platform still in launch. It will be necessary to see what Google really offers, and how many services will be available with this platform. For now, YouTube, Google Play Movies and company. Little, everything has to be said.