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Google was among the first to herald the advent of mobile VR, but that daydream is slowly coming to an end. After the company halted the Cardboard SDK development and open-sourced it in 2019, it has now finally stopped selling the Cardboard hardware altogether in its online store.
Google's latest canceled VR project will at least live on as an open source project
Tilt Brush will remain available in digital stores
One of the more interesting VR applications we've seen in recent years is Tilt Brush, an app that lets users create 3D art in a virtual environment. Unfortunately, Google has announced that it's ending internal development for the app. It will get another chance to succeed, however, as an open-source project.
Killing off beloved products can be difficult to do, but Google has gotten pretty good at it over the years. The company even put up a cemetery filled with its own products for Halloween last year. Now it looks like another tombstone needs to be installed, because Google has announced that it's sending Expeditions, its educational VR tour app, on one last outing — and it isn't coming back.
Oculus discontinues the Gear VR-based Go headset
The headset could run software designed for Samsung's Gear VR
Virtual reality company Oculus used to have a tight partnership with Samsung, to the point where both company's devices shared the same software ecosystem. The Oculus Go was released in 2018 as a self-contained VR headset, with a Snapdragon 821 processor and full compatibility with games built for Samsung's Gear VR. Sadly, it's now time to say goodbye to the headset.
Hulu told Variety yesterday that it has dropped support for Google's Daydream VR platform. The feature was silently disabled in updates to the Android app over the last few weeks. Hulu's support page also confirms the change.
Samsung's Galaxy Note10 was officially announced last week, and while it's jam-packed with almost everything most people could want in a smartphone, it also dropped a few features: the headphone jack is completely gone, and the microSD card slot isn't present on the smaller model. It has also become evident over the past few days that the Note10 doesn't support any mobile VR platform, marking an end to both Gear VR and Google Daydream.
The product life cycle can be harsh — smash hits fly off the shelves and rarely get discounted, but other products, though they may be decent, don't catch on and are brutally discounted in fire sales. The 3D 180VR video-capturing Lenovo Mirage Camera is one such example — originally launched for $300 in 2018, it can now be had for just $100 at Best Buy and Amazon.
If you want a virtual reality headset to kill some time with, but don't want to burden yourself with wires or a high price tag, the Oculus Go might be calling your name. It's currently available at its lowest price for both of its storage options at Amazon and Best Buy.The headset uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and 3GB of RAM to feed content onto a 2560x1440 LCD — which should be able to produce an equivalent viewing experience of a 180" projection display — at up to 72 frames per second. It comes with a motion-tracked controller with three degrees of movement, good enough for messing about with Oculus apps and games in your personal space. It weighs just over a pound, comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 2,600mAh battery that should last at least a couple hours.
Google hasn't talked about its Daydream VR platform much lately, but it still exists and works with phones like the Pixel 3. Daydream has never had extensive app support, and there's one less Google app available today. Google has quietly retired the Play Movies & TV app for Daydream.
The New York Times has had a virtual realty app for watching 360-degree video for a while now. It's made for Google Cardboard, the low-cost mobile VR headsets made from, well, cardboard. This week, the publication released a new version of the app built for Daydream, Android's current VR platform introduced in 2016.
Google's Street View project is one of the largest collections of 360 panoramas images available for public use. While most images are taken with the easily recognizable Street View cars, for off-road collection a contraption called the Street View Trekker is used. Today, the Street View team is announcing an upgraded Trekker that has shed a few pounds and improved on image quality.
[Deal Alert] Lenovo Mirage Solo drops to $320-330 ($70-80 off), Mirage Camera down to $250 ($50 off)
Lenovo was the first company to release a standalone Daydream headset, and we haven't heard much about the Mirage Solo (or the Mirage Camera) since it launched earlier this year. It looks like there's some excess stock floating around because prices are coming down today. You can get the headset for $70-80 off and the camera for $50 off.The Mirage Solo has an integrated 2560 x 1440 display at 5.5-inches that sits right in front of your face. The display offers a 110-degree field of view, and there are outward-facing dual cameras. Inside, there's a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. It's Daydream, but you don't need to dock a phone. B&H has the headset for $329.99, and Amazon has gone a little further with $319.99. Those are both good discounts, but Oculus Go is $250.
Self-contained headsets that run Google's Daydream VR platform went on sale earlier this year, and Google has continued to improve them since. Chrome for Daydream became available in July, and now the company has revealed what's next for the platform.
Hatrabbit Entertainment is a game studio based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company's first mobile title was Merry Snowballs, a winter-themed casual shooter for mobile, Google Cardboard, and Daydream VR. Hatrabbit just released Slightly Heroes, another simple first-person shooter exclusively for Daydream.
Back in July, a standalone version of Chrome finally became available for Daydream VR. You could visit sites or play web-based VR games without ever taking off your headset, and it was the first time standalone Daydream headsets (like the Lenovo Mirage Solo) could access websites. If you're not a fan of Chrome, there's another VR browser you can try - Firefox Reality.
Labster is a company that develops various virtual labs for schools. The idea is that students can work in simulated environments if a school's real labs are inaccessible (because of time limits, scheduling conflicts, etc), or if they don't have the required equipment. Labster has now partnered with Google to develop over 30 virtual reality labs, using the Daydream VR platform.
Chrome has been able to view web VR content for some time now, but there has always been one problem - you couldn't launch Chrome from the Daydream launcher. In other words, you had to navigate to the desired page on your phone, then put your phone in a VR headset. That's not a great experience, and it leaves out standalone Daydream headsets (like the Lenovo Mirage Solo) entirely.
Hype for VR may have started to die down a bit, but software development applied to the various hardware platforms continues apace, and that includes YouTube VR. Yesterday it announced it would be coming to Samsung's Gear VR headsets this week, and it is also introducing a new way to share VR experiences called "Watch Together," which will allow YouTube VR users to watch and discuss content in a shared virtual space. A handful of new exclusive content will also be coming to the platform.
The virtual reality game is getting interesting, but the displays on the current generation of headsets are still getting in the way of truly immersive experiences. To solve this, Google and LG Display teamed up to produce an ultra high-resolution OLED panel intended for the next generation of VR headsets. This display was first discussed back in March, but it's now been officially unveiled at the Display Week 2018 expo.
There are a handful of phones that support Google Daydream, but it's still far from a universal feature on Android devices. Now, you don't even need a phone. The previously announced Lenovo Mirage Solo is available, but it's not cheap. Also in the "not cheap but available" category is the Lenovo Mirage Camera, the first camera for Google's VR180 platform.The Lenovo Mirage Solo has access to all the same Daydream content as your phone, but it's got all the necessary hardware inside to handle the VR. That includes a QHD display and a Snapdragon 835 SoC. Google also notes that it has advanced positional tracking that's more like desktop VR. Thus, you can lean, duck, and walk in VR. Although, you should probably not walk—that's dangerous in VR.Lenovo is asking $400 for the Mirage Solo, which seems like way too much money. The Oculus Go just launched at half that price. Even if the hardware is more ambitious, Daydream doesn't have the same level of software support. Google says there are about 350 games for Daydream, but Oculus claimed 1,000 the other day.The new Lenovo Mirage Camera isn't cheap, either. This device will cost you $300, but it's the first VR180 camera you can get. The photos and videos you capture with this camera work in VR and are automatically added to your Google Photos library.Both devices are available from various retailers. Here's where you can find them right now.Lenovo Mirage Solo