Mobile: The future of VR?
Facebook’s acquisition of the Oculus Rift in 2014 sparked a new race in technology — that for the finest and most efficient Virtual Reality devices.
In two short years we’ve come a long way — media is being marketed with VR specifically in mind (with games such as Elite: Dangerous, or Subnautica, or films such as Hardcore Henry), and devices are being sold for home use with a price tag comparable to a next generation console. And now, with the new Pixel smartphone, mobile devices are rapidly shaping up to be the winners in the race for best and most affordable Virtual Reality.
Mobiles status as a serious contender for VR has come about chiefly thanks to Google. In June 2014, Google released Cardboard — a VR headset built out of simple, low-cost components which utilised a smartphone as a screen and processor. Approximately 5 million units were shipped, showing off the potential of VR as a technology. Now, Google have released their Daydream VR hardware, secure in the knowledge that VR is an investment that will pay no end of dividends.
The new Pixel and Pixel XL phones fully support Google’s Daydream, and altogether come out as cheaper than an Oculus Rift (which also requires a full PC to run, on top of it’s £787 price tag). A Pixel smartphone with the Daydream VR currently totals out at just £668, making it one of the most affordable VR sets currently on the market. But it is not alone — Samsung have also released their own VR device, simply called the Samsung Gear, which costs just £99 and works with Galaxy S7 and S6 phones.
With the increasing dominance of mobile devices on the electronics market, it is probably unsurprising that they are coming out as the winners in this race for mass use VR. Google’s Cardboard helped millions become familiar with the technology, both users and developers, and also generated a huge amount of feedback that allowed them to develop the Daydream VR.
It is coming to the end of 2016, and now we not only carry in our pockets the ability to instantly research and connect with one another, but to also enter brand new worlds at will.
Welcome to the future.
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