Google CEO: 11 phones will start Daydreaming before 2018
Just shy of a dozen Android models from Samsung, LG, Motorola and Asus will work with Google's VR software, Sundar Pichai promises.
Eleven phones will support Google's Daydream virtual reality software by the end of 2017, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai said in parent company Alphabet's earnings call Monday. The statement was later confirmed to CNET by a Google spokesperson.
Here's what Pichai said (via Seeking Alpha):
"We continue to work on the next generation of computing platforms, virtual and augmented realty. By the end of this year, there will be 11 Daydream ready devices on the market from manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Motorola and Asus."
Last year Google revealed its Daydream View VR headset, which made Google Cardboard look like, well, a cheap piece of cardboard. Upon its release the only phones that could work with it were the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, and since then only a handful of Android devices have become compatible. But for companies such as Google getting into VR, most people will pick the phone they want first and care about Google's VR a distant second.
Google needs more Daydream-ready phones to make its VR dream true. Daydream software currently works on phones like the Moto Z, ZTE Axon 7, Huawei Mate 9 Pro and Asus ZenFone AR -- for the full list click here.
The most recent additions to the Google Daydream family are the Moto Z2 Force (according to a Motorola spokesperson) and Galaxy S8. The Moto Z2 Force was unveiled on Tuesday and was Daydream ready from the get-go. In May Google revealed it would bring Daydream to the Galaxy S8 -- as well as an upcoming LG phone -- and now that's finally starting to happen.
This has us wondering what phones will get Daydream next. Could it be the LG V20 successor? What about sequels to Daydream-ready phones like the Google Pixel 2?
We're excited to see what else Google adds to the growing list.
Article updated at 1:30pm PT to confirm that the Moto Z2 Force is Daydream-ready.