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Google Daydream is finally going to sleep
June 03, 2025
While it’s not exactly a shock, Google hasconfirmed toVentureBeatthat the company has discontinued sales of itsDaydream Viewsmartphone VR headset. The news came as part of Google’s big hardware press event today. The company also confirmed that the just-announcedGoogle Pixel 4andPixel 4 XLsmartphones will not support the Daydream View, and that no other Android smartphones will be certified to use the headset.
Google launched both the Daydream View headset and the Daydream VR app platformin the fall of 2016. However, neither the hardware nor the software were a huge hit with consumers. In a statement sent toVentureBeat, Google admitted it “noticed some clear limitations constraining smartphone VR from being a viable long-term solution.” Those issues included asking owners to put their smartphone in a headset, while at the same time losing access to most of the apps consumers used on their phones.
Google stated it is now concentrating on developing augmented reality smartphone apps and features. That includes the use of apps likeGoogle Lens, and features likeAR-based walking navigationin Google Maps. Google says that current Daydream View owners will still be able to use the headset, along with the VR apps and store, for the time being. There’s been no word on when, or if, the Daydream app store will shut down.
The Daydream View launched at the height of interest in mobile virtual reality, and it had competitors likeSamsung’s Gear VR headset. In 2018, Lenovo even launched a Daydream VR-based headset, theMirage Solo. However, Samsung appears to have quietly abandoned theGear VR platformand Google has now done the same with Daydream. The future for mobile VR appears to lie in standalone products, such as theOculus Quest, which uses the smartphone-developed Qualcomm Snapdragon835 processor.
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