Samsung has been developing its own VR setup since the Galaxy Note 4 when it unveiled the Gear VR Innovator Edition for developers and VR-curious consumers alike. Since then, the Korean giant has rolled out a few Gear VR headsets with Facebook’s Oculus software in tow. This strategy sufficed initially because Google had yet to unveil a VR headset or platform of its own. With Google’s announcement of its Daydream View headset and Daydream VR platform last Fall alongside the Pixel and Pixel XL, however, a mobile VR alternative was born.
Earlier this year, Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ without Daydream VR, though Samsung has released the Daydream update for its earlier high-end smartphones. With the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ achieving Daydream access, the Galaxy Note 8 is next on the minds of Samsung buyers. If you fit in this camp, no need to worry: the Galaxy Note 8 comes Daydream-ready out of the box.
That’s the word from a Samsung spokesman to nieuwemobiel.nl when interviewed about Daydream support for the Galaxy Note 8. Whereas Galaxy S8 users had to wait for Daydream-readiness, Galaxy Note 8 users won’t have to. The Galaxy S8 Daydream update rolled out weeks after the announcement, but a rumor claims that Samsung had planned to roll out Daydream with the arrival of its new Gear VR with Controller earlier this year. The presence of the Bluetooth VR controller alone hints that Samsung played a wait-and-see approach with Daydream VR for the Galaxy S8 but was already prepared to roll out the update due to increasing demand.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 joins a small list of Android-powered, Daydream-ready: the LG V30, Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Porsche Design, ASUS ZenFone AR, Moto Z and the new Moto Z2 Force, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, along with the ZTE Axon 7, Galaxy S8, and Galaxy S8+. Current Daydream-ready phones must have AMOLED panels, which is why the Daydream-ready list is still extremely small.
