Daydream dev teases new launch details for Google VR project's fall debut

Yesterday’s Google I/O keynote didn't bring us quite the virtual reality news we had heard rumored, with no stand-alone “Android VR” headset to be seen. Instead we got something pretty darn exciting in its own right, as Google announced its Daydream platform for future phone-based VR, combining next-gen handsets, new viewer hardware, VR-friendly controllers, and a fresh pack of apps eager to take advantage of it all. More details on how everything works should be arriving later today as part of I/O's “VR at Google” session, but one detail we've already picked up is that the first Daydream hardware should be landing sometime this fall. Cool, but that's still a little imprecise; when exactly can we start diving into these new virtual worlds for ourselves? One developer may have just revealed an even more specific Daydream ETA, talking about plans for a November release.

NetEase plans to bring its Twilight Pioneers app to Daydream, and at Google I/O yesterday the company's CEO talked about his excitement at being among the first devs to commit to Daydream.

In a full press release announcing those plans, NetEase provides our best look yet at exactly when Daydream will be ready to go live, noting, “NetEase will premiere Twilight Pioneers concurrent with the launch of Daydreamin November 2016.”

It's possible that some of those Daydream components will launch a little ahead of then – and we wouldn't be surprised if some of this summer's crop of new IFA phones are built with the platform in mind – but perhaps the viewing hardware and controllers might sit things out until November. Even if they do, they'll still hit the market in time for the big holiday season; will this be the year when VR products finally become must-have gifts?

source: NetEase via MobileSyrup