Daydream VR is Google\u2019s own upcoming virtual reality platform that the search engine giant has in store for Android users this Fall, but Google hasn\u2019t given too many plans on when we can expect the platform to take off. Well, tech enthusiasts know that Google will debut Daydream VR before the year\u2019s end, but we still don\u2019t have an exact date.<\/p>\n
Well, according to Bloomberg, Google is gearing up to launch Daydream VR \u201cin the coming weeks,\u201d the publication says (with yet and still no specific date). Bloomberg also says that Google has been trying to recruit YouTube stars for the effort, to influence consumers to give the upcoming virtual reality platform a chance. Justine Ezarik and the Dolan Twins will use their celebrity status toward endorsing the platform, among others.<\/p>\n
Google has been putting the pieces in place to pull off Daydream VR when it lands; the best testimony of this has been the company\u2019s release of Android Nougat this week for current Nexus devices such as the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, and Nexus Player (not to mention the Pixel-C laptop). The new major Android update is usually announced at around the time the next-generation Nexii (plural for \u201cNexus\u201d) are announced, but Google\u2019s decision to release Android Nougat this week, an update that makes Nexus devices \u201cVR-ready,\u201d shows that the company doesn\u2019t intend to wait until the next Nexus devices are announced. Perhaps Google is trying to plant its feet firmly in VR at a time when Sony\u2019s PlayStation VR (formerly Project Morpheus) and Samsung\u2019s Gear VR and possible standalone Odyssey VR headset are making the rounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company is relying on apps, shorts and games to promote Daydream, a hybrid store and software service that Google hopes will be the dominant way people engage in virtual reality, much like Android is for smartphones\u2026Google is spending high six figures on video games, and is offering from low five figures to low six figures for projects with filmmakers and online talent,\u201d Bloomberg was told by those familiar with Google\u2019s internal decisions. In other words, Google really wants Daydream VR to take off.<\/p>\n
And yet, only time can tell if virtual reality is what consumers will want down the line. One thing\u2019s for sure: Google is a large name in the business, with a pot of cash behind it and the ability to do anything it sets itself to. This is the company that has been willing to experiment (hence, Project Loon, drones, robots, driverless cars, etc.), but has also been willing to scrap projects that didn\u2019t make enough money. Will Daydream VR be one of those soon-abandoned, soon-forgotten platforms? Time will tell.<\/p>\n