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HTC won't release a Daydream VR headset after all

HTC and Google confirm that plans for a wireless Daydream headset have been cancelled.

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HTC is behind the HTC Vive and the standalone Focus. But it looks like it's woken up from its Google daydreams.

Josh Miller/CNET

If you've been dreaming of HTC's standalone Google VR headset, it's time to wake up.

The phone manufacturer was working with Google on a "new breed" of VR headset, it was reported in May. The wireless HTC headset was expected to support Google's Daydream VR platform and work without a phone or a separate computer.

Following a report by TechCrunch, Google's VP of AR and VR Clay Bavor confirmed on Twitter that HTC wouldn't be producing a Daydream-branded headset, but the two companies would continue to work together:

HTC has today showed off the Vive Focus, a wireless headset powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon. It claims to offer "six-degrees-of-freedom tracking," meaning you won't need a roomful of cameras to move around a virtual world.  

Lenovo was also working with Google on a Daydream headset, which Google told Fast Company is still going ahead.

"For the rest of this year, we're focusing on our standalone device, VIVE FOCUS, for the China market," said a spokesperson for HTC. "We still have a great relationship with Google, but will not be bringing a standalone device to the western markets on Daydream at this time. We're looking closely at our hardware roadmap and will share when there is more to come for Western markets next year."

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