The new Google Daydream View headset ($99) is more comfortable and durable than last year's model, with a wider field of view, yet it fits all existing Daydream compatible phones. It looks like a great way to experiment with virtual reality, although Google's VR ecosystem still looks and feels like a beta version rather than like a broad, consumer rollout. The headset is available now, but Google cites a shipping delay of three to four weeks. We got to take a first look at it at Google's launch event.

What's Changed

Google introduced Daydream with Android 7.0 Nougat, and since then, it's appeared on most major Android-powered smartphones. Every Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 can do Daydream, as can the LG V30, the new Pixel 2s, some Motorola phones, and even the ZTE Axon 7.

The new Daydream View upgrades both security and comfort noticeably. You still drop your phone into the front and snap the rest of the headset around it. A new top strap makes it feel more secure when you're gyrating your head around. For me, the first headset had a serious problem with light leaking up the bridge of my nose; that's a lot better now, thanks to fuller padding (which is still removable and washable). It's worth upgrading from last year's unit if you had fit, light leak, or wobble issues.

I find this generation to be more comfortable than the Samsung Gear VR. The reason is that the Daydream View is significantly lighter than the Gear VR, at 9.2 ounces compared with Samsung's 12.1 ounces. You definitely feel those extra few ounces on your neck after 20 minutes.

The Daydream View's Bluetooth controller has been slightly changed as well. It's still the same long-lozenge size and shape, but the home and menu buttons are now a little better differentiated, with the menu button protruding a bit more and the home button a little more depressed, although the Gear VR's controller has a bigger directional touch pad.

The headset comes in black, gray, or red, matching Google's other new hardware.

More to View

The new headset doesn't change the responsiveness or tracking of Daydream; that comes down to your phone. On a Pixel 2 XL, it was just fine. I watched a VR film and played a Need for Speed game, both of which had a tiny bit of manageable lag. Samsung's Gear VR is about the same.

The list of Google VR-compatible apps has grown; it's now dozens rather than a handful, with big-name video providers on board such as HBO Now, the MLB, and the NFL. Samsung's Gear VR has more providers and more apps, but neither platform has anything we'd really consider to be an absolute must-have.

But VR still isn't breaking through into the mainstream. I'm wondering if this is endemic not to the VR implementations, but to VR itself. Ultimately, people may not want to be sealed off completely into darkness, surrounded by a false world their senses tell them is always slightly off. Microsoft is betting on this with its new mixed reality headsets that combine elements of AR and VR for a more open experience.

That said, if you do want to zone out in a virtual world, the Daydream View look like the most comfortable option at the moment. It's also less expensive than Samsung's headset-controller combo, at $99 compared with $129. Check back for a full review soon.

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