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Google’s second Daydream headset is all subtle improvements
Samsung's Gear VR ushered in an age where we strap our phones to our faces for entertainment. But when it debuted last year, Google's $79 Daydream View managed to make the whole process look just a little less geeky. To coincide with the launch of its new Pixel smartphones, Google whipped up an updated version of the Daydream View that costs $20 more than the old one. So, what's actually new here? Quite a bit, as it turns out.
Samsung's Gear VR controller makes mobile VR more immersive
Samsung was first to mobile VR, but Google's Daydream View headset beat it to motion controls. Now, the Korean electronics giant is fighting back with the Gear VR controller. And, with a bit of help from Oculus, it's even managed to outdo Google when it comes to delivering a believable virtual experience. Best of all? Existing Gear VR owners don't need to buy a whole new headset to take advantage of this upgrade.
Oculus brings VR gameplay streams to your Facebook news feed
Facebook has been experimenting with livestreaming gaming for a bit, and now Oculus is coming into the fold. You'll be able to broadcast your Gear VR gameplay to the world's largest social network. From the stage presentation, perhaps unsurprisingly it resembles how the current streams work. Basically, it looks like a status update, and you can tag friends, comment and talk smack. Or, ill-timed words of encouragement from your family members as you blast away enemies. Because that's how Facebook works.
Oculus' next headset is a cross between the Rift and Gear VR
Virtual reality is kind of stuck between two markets right now: an extremely mobile but lower quality, phone-powered experience, and an very high end, expensive, wired PC experience. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg says neither is really good enough for the future of the platform. Virtual reality needs to be high quality, wireless and mobile. Today at Oculus Connect 3, Zuckerberg announced that it's coming. Referred to as the "Santa Cruz," the company now has a prototype wireless virtual reality headset designed to bridge the gap between the high end Oculus Rift and the portable Gear VR,.
Ex-HTC CEO hints at the future of VR headsets
For a man who spent 18 years at HTC turning smartphones from mere business tools into ubiquitous consumer gadgets, Peter Chou knows a thing or two about nurturing new product categories. In fact, he had already started his second chapter at the company by bringing us the Vive virtual reality headset before his quiet departure last August. Today, Chou's mission is extended by way of two chairman roles: one at visual effects studio Digital Domain, where he can "fully and deeply understand" VR content creation, and another at VR game studio Futuretown, where he is also an investor. Content development may seem like a weird match given Chou's prior focus on hardware, but to him it felt like a logical next step. After all, it's now content, not hardware, pushing VR forward.
Your phone probably won't be Daydream VR-certified
If you can't wait to get your hands on Daydream, Google's new mobile VR platform, then there's some bad news coming. The company's Clay Bavor has conceded to RoadToVR that you'll probably have to buy a new handset for it to work. He says that existing handsets, even high-spec flagships, won't be marked as compatible with the new standard. While the firm has told developers to use the Nexus 6P as the platform to work for, it seems clear that not even the handset that's used to build Daydream apps will be certified. Then again, we give it a week before someone finds that it'll work on current devices anyway.
Oculus Concepts collects experimental mobile VR 'games' in one spot
Virtual reality is nothing if not an awesome font for weird little experiences, but they can be kind of difficult to find. Some are on Steam, some are available elsewhere. Oculus is hoping that Oculus Concepts, its new section of the Gear VR's Oculus Store will make that easier. Concepts, like the name suggests, is a place where developers can toss their games and apps that might not be ready for primetime but are still worth checking out. One of the experiences shown off in official imagery is The Night Cafe: An Immersive Tribute to Van Gogh which was part of the Oculus Mobile VR Jam earlier this year. Like the company notes, some of the biggest VR games hit that status because they were released to the public early. So if you have a shiny new Gear VR and are looking to check out something aside from Netflix, here you go.
Browsing Twitter and Instagram in VR? Yup, it's a thing
I know, you bought yourself a VR rig and never want to take it off. It's the future, that's natural! And with something like the Gear VR's passthrough camera you don't even need to remove the headset to do menial "real-world" chores like going to the bathroom, grabbing another Mountain Dew out of the fridge or some Doritos out of the cupboard. But what if you wanted to check your Twitter feed or see how many new likes that Instagram photo of hitting your activity goal on your Apple Watch got while avoiding meatspace? Have no fear folks, because with a new app called Swerve you'll be able to do that without removing your Android VR system. The app puts Twitter into a 3D space and as VR Focus notes, you can peruse searches, mentions and hashtags too -- apparently all in a cloud-filled skybox. Perfect.
Explore Vincent van Gogh's painterly world in this VR project
We've seen modern ASCII art in virtual reality before, but until now nothing approaching the works of the masters. With "The Night Cafe" that changes. Strap a mobile VR headset on and you can take a gander through Vincent Van Gogh's Le Café nuit as he might've seen it while at the easel. Waves of light circle out from hanging fixtures and unsurprisingly everything very much has a painterly vibe to it, from the way shading alters the color of the walls to the eerie look in Van Gogh's cold, dead eyes. Wait, what? Well, as Killscreen notes, the project features a number of Easter eggs strewn about from various other Van Gogh works and that includes his self portrait. The brief video below doesn't show if Starry Night made the cut, but artist Mac Cauley says he's still adding to the experience that originated as an entry in this year's Mobile VR Jam.
What makes Samsung's mobile VR consumer-ready? Marketing
A consumer release is en route for Gear VR. Hey, alright! If you've been paying attention, you might realize the problem with that first sentence, though. Think for a few minutes, I'll be here. Give up? Well, here's the answer: Unlike Oculus' still-in-prototype Rift headset, you can go to Best Buy's website today, throw down $200 and, boom, you'll have a head-mounted virtual reality display. Just like that. Okay, you'll need a Galaxy Note 4 too. But still, it already exists.
How Samsung's VR headset convinced John Carmack to join Oculus VR
John Carmack's name isn't synonymous with virtual reality just yet. He's still "the guy who led programming on Doom and Wolfenstein" to most folks; the co-founder of acclaimed development studio id Software. And that's exactly why it was such a big deal when he suddenly left id Software last year to join Oculus VR as chief technical officer. Though Palmer Luckey and co. helped sway him with their own Rift headset, Carmack was eventually sold on the gig by Samsung's mobile VR concept: Gear VR. "That was really the prime thing that motivated me to decide: No, I'm gonna devote 100 percent of my attention and focus to Oculus," he told Engadget in an interview this week.
