However this is expected to change because during Alphabet’s earnings call, Google’s CEO and now Alphabet board member Sundar Pichai has revealed that the company is promising that there will be at least 11 Daydream VR smartphones by the end of the year. Exactly what phones these are remains to be seen, but presumably at least two will be Google’s 2017 Pixel smartphones.
Google’s Daydream is more akin to Samsung’s Gear VR system rather than other VR platforms like the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. This is because it does not require users to be tethered to a computer, but rather it uses the user’s smartphone to act as the VR delivery system, together with the Daydream View headset.
Like we said Google’s interest in VR is hardly a secret and we’ve seen the company experiment with various facets of VR, including how to best deliver ads while in virtual reality.