Is Google’s Daydream Dead in the Water?

No, we’re not talking about the company wistfully staring out the window dreaming of frolicking in a field. Google Daydream was a much talked about platform for virtual reality that was supposed to quickly become just as popular as the Android operating system, according to Google itself. Their strategy was going to be much the same as Android. They would create new VR capable devices yearly, making the previous year’s model old news.

This tactic would quickly get VR capable devices into the hands of consumers in a relatively short period of time. It was supposed to encompass not only VR headsets, but other VR devices too like headsets and even apps to help make the VR experience even better.

People were very excited about this platform but all’s been quiet on the western front for the past few years since this platform was announced. It was even quiet recently when Google had the opportunity to comment on the platform. They had a developer conference last month in which they had plenty of opportunities to fill everyone in on the latest developments with Daydream. However, the exciting product was not mentioned at all, not even in the 2-hour keynote speech at the beginning of the conference.

That’s not to say that Google hasn’t done anything in this realm. They did release one headset for the Daydream platform, the Mirage Solo. It’s a standalone headset meaning no wires attached. Many industry experts believe that Google has started to focus more on augmented reality, simply because it can already work seamlessly with a lot of their existing technologies, and it’s more accessible to a larger amount of people. So Daydream isn’t dead, but it may be delayed.