Google Daydream VR arrives on Galaxy S8 – what does it mean for you?

Samsung is finally getting Daydream VR support for both of its latest flagship smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

In a Google+ post, Google has revealed that both of Samsung’s top-tier devices are about to get support for the Daydream VR platform. According to the post, the update “is rolling out now”, although it wasn’t clear how region-specific the announcement is.

The update means that Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones will be able to work with Daydream, making it possible to use a Galaxy S8 with the Daydream View headset.

Google announced Daydream at the I/O conference in May last year, revealing a fully-fledged virtual reality platform that would also include a supporting headset. The first such Daydream VR headset was released in November 10, 2016, but the roster of supporting phones was severely limited. That’s because Google demands a very rigorous set of high-end specs for a phone to work with Daydream.

At the time of the announcement, Google confirmed that at least eight hardware partners would be building Daydream-ready phones, including: Samsung, HTC, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Asus and Alcatel.

Then at this year’s Google I/O conference, the company confirmed that Samsung’s latest flagships would receive the Daydream update “over the summer”. That’s finally happened, although there’s still only a small number of devices that support Daydream.

These handsets will be capable of working with the Google Daydream View headset, which features a unique cloth-like exterior. It also ships with a wireless controller that can be used to interact with virtual environments through button presses or motion control.

The new update will be arriving over-the-air, so it may be worth checking with your carrier to see when the software will be available.

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