As the year 2018 marches forward, it looks like we are heading towards a promising year of indulging in virtual rejuvenation.
Virtual Reality is the latest platform of immersive entertainment. With massive experimentation in content development last year, the VR ecosystem will continue to advance and expand in 2018.
With major firms now betting big on VR, a proper understanding of Virtual Reality – for those who are not aware of it – is a must. VR aims to replace your reality with a new computer-generated environment using computing resources and optics. It can be anything – a game, an environment you walk around or a video that's playing around you. The main idea is to trick your brain into believing that you are in a place other than the place where you really are, and that's your new reality.
Let’s take a closer look at Google’s recently launched Daydream View VR headset. You can pair the headset with Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL or other Daydream-compatible phones such as LG V30, Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ and Zenfone AR. It is expected to be compatible with more Android phones in future.
Two-tone fabric design
Similar to its predecessor, the overall design of the new VR headset remains unchanged. You still fasten your phone between the headset’s front flap and a pair of lenses, which automatically launches a special Daydream Home interface.
The new Daydream headset now comes with high-performance lenses that produce a better image clarity and offer a wider field of view as compared to the original. A two-tone fabric wraps around the headset making it soft and light on the head. It now comes in three new colours – fog, charcoal and coral.
The headset is comfortable to wear for short durations, and the elastic band at the back securely holds the headset in place. And yes, it works well even for those who wear eyeglasses.
Even when the headset is securely attached on the head, we noticed a small tint of light seeping in from the sides, and therefore we recommend you to use it in completely dark environments.
Explore new worlds
There’s so much to experience on Daydream, as there are now over 250 titles as compared to 25 games and videos last year. According to Google, people love watching immersive VR video on apps like YouTube VR. And to put you right in the middle of action, the company has added more VR video content.
What makes Daydream VR so impressive is the immersion factor that it provides to users, the fact that you feel that you’re a part of the virtual world. Just like the audio immersive experience of headphones – you don't hear anything else but music – the VR headset also blindfolds you to make you a part of an entirely new world of Virtual Reality.
While the 5-inch screen of Google Pixel 2 looks well in daily use, up close – two inches from your face – you really get to see all individual pixels. But if you have a Daydream compatible 4K-display phone, your experience will be even more immersive, for the higher resolution of your display will easily handle the requirements of the pixel-dense Virtual Reality.
The headset also comes with a tiny remote control with two buttons, a volume rocker and a clickable trackpad at top. It's also motion controlled, which means you can play everything from adventure games to racing games by simply tilting the remote.
Games and interface
The Daydream View headset has its own Google Play Store section, which has great puzzles, but it still needs more immersive 3D titles. We played ‘Lola and the Giant’, a game in which a young girl called Lola awakens in a mysterious cave and travels through various worlds in search of her way back home. Throughout her journey, she’s accompanied by a giant rock monster that she stumbles upon in the first level.
Much of the gameplay resolves around simple fetch quests such as finding food, chimes and even cooking to feed a giant dog, all the while making a great use of the Daydream controller.
Here is a trailer for the game.
And while games remain a major comeback for the headset, you should not miss out on the wide selection of app the platform holds, such as YouTube VR and Photos app.
Conclusion
Google Daydream View is priced competently for everyday consumers. With more availability of content in near future, this VR headset is poised to become a preferred choice over Samsung ecosystem.
