Google will make one and share design guidelines with other manufacturers

Still, the new headsets will be much cheaper than high-end VR systems like the Rift and the Vive..There will also be a wireless motion controller - functioning like a fishing rod, a steering wheel or a pointer – to permit more-sophisticated VR experiences.Furthermore, Daydream won’t work with Apple’s iPhones, whereas Google Cardboard headsets do.Where Google’s system advances over other smartphone headsets is in its motion controller.Higher-end systems offer more, including full position tracking on the Vive.Daydream headsets will work with a range of phone brands. Sophisticated systems such as Facebook’s Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are expensive, limiting their appeal to gamers and other tech enthusiasts. As you walk around a room, images on the headset change to reflect your new perspective. Those cost several hundred dollars, not including a powerful personal computer with fast-enough graphics. Google’s controller will be able to sense motion, so you can swing it like a tennis racket when playing a tennis game in VR. Alternatively, cheaper VR headsets that tap the power of smartphones are typically tied to one manufacturer’s phones, such as Samsung’s or LG’s. After all, no one wants to be stuck with VR’s equivalent of Betamax video recorders after the world has moved to VHS.On Thursday, Google offered more details on its plans to develop a range of VR headsets that promise to be more comfortable and durable than its ultra-cheap Cardboard headset. Google will make one and share design guidelines with other manufacturers. Because these phones don’t exist yet, Daydream will need time to grow, says Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research.On the other hand, these headsets are cheap enough that consumers aren’t taking a huge financial risk, certainly nothing near what it takes to commit to a Rift, Vive or Sony’s upcoming PlayStation VR, says Ian Fogg, head of the mobile analyst group at IHS.
Gartner analyst Brian Blau says he believes the Daydream-powered devices could prove to be a “thorn in the side” of both Samsung and Oculus, which teamed up to make a similar VR headset , called Gear VR, late last year. Cardboard and Gear VR don’t offer much control beyond pushing a button on the headset as sanitarywares you move your head. Existing phones won’t have the right hardware, and cheaper ‘N’ phones won’t either, so you might have to spend a few hundred dollars more for a top-of-the-line model.And while some people might be buying VR games and apps that won’t work with a future, competing system, Fogg says these are cheap, too - priced like a phone app, along the lines of a few dollars. The price difference gives you better materials - not cardboard - and a strap to keep your hands free. It’s a matter of adding sensors and good-enough screens, among other things.Google says at least eight manufacturers, including Samsung, HTC, and Huawei, will make compatible phones this fall.The introduction of yet another VR system might create more confusion and persuade some people to wait.Smartphone-based VR is more like a 360-degree movie in 3-D.Though no price was announced, the Daydream headsets will be more expensive than Cardboard, likely in the ballpark of Samsung’s $100 Gear VR.Here’s a look at challenges that come with the opportunities:You’ll need a higher-end phone running the upcoming ‘N’’ version of Android.Upcoming virtual-reality headsets based on Google’s new Daydream VR system could give more people a taste of VR and make better games and applications affordable.But there are hurdles, including a need to buy a new Android phone - no iPhones. Moving around won’t change the perspective. By contrast, Google sells Cardboard for as little as $15, and many brands, including The New York Times, give them away as part of promotions.It’s the difference between climbing Mount Everest by gripping virtual ladders, or watching someone with a 360-degree camera do it. You’re meant to watch it sitting down at the same spot.