Google’s I/O 2016 conference kicked off with a flood of announcements, but the one that stands above the rest is Daydream. Until now, Mountain View’s efforts in virtual reality seemed centered around projects like Cardboard, but Daydream marks the formal arrival of VR support in Android. The sense is that this platform will look to take on the Oculus/Samsung combo, and Android N will be a fundamental piece in developing its strategy.
Virtual reality and mobile devices. It’s only a matter of time before we see a much closer relationship than they have now. Samsung taught the world the potential of that relationship with the Gear VR, and although it didn’t escape all its technical limitations, the South Korean giant did solid work. Google’s “alternative,” if you will, was Cardboard, but if we’re honest, Cardboard served more as an explorer of new modes in YouTube (360-degree playback) than to position virtual reality on Android. In fact, up to this point they have no interaction, and more than once we wondered if there was a common future between Android and virtual reality. During the first day of the I/O conference, Google cleared all doubts: the code name is Daydream, and it’s a complete virtual reality platform that we’ll soon see on Android N.
Android N’s involvement is not a whim on Google’s part, but a real need that will allow leaving behind several technical difficulties, starting with latency. Suffice it to say that the first tests of Daydream under Android 6.0 Marshmallow yielded a latency of 100 milliseconds on a Nexus 6P, while the optimizations in Android N brought it below 20 milliseconds. Daydream will also have an advanced level of integration with Android N’s interface, to the point that it will present new notifications inside the virtual environment we’re in. Of course, any additional changes will depend on the app itself, but we won’t deny it’s a very interesting possibility. As if that weren’t enough, Google published a “reference design” for a virtual headset. Nothing seems to indicate that Google wants to bring that design to market on its own, however, we should stay tuned.
Now, hardware. Who will be the first to experiment with Daydream? The answer is simple: all those developers with a Nexus 6P and the “Developer Preview 3” of Android N, which can be downloaded here. Why only the 6P? The key word is “AMOLED.” While the Nexus 5X is compatible with the preview, this does not extend to Daydream due to its LCD screen, a technology that has been discarded by other high-profile virtual reality products, like the Rift and the Vive (both use OLED screens with a 90Hz refresh rate). Will we see manufacturers launching “certified” smartphones for Daydream? The first eight names: HTC, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Asus, Alcatel... and Samsung.
