Google's big bet on virtual reality is launching on November 10

Rob Price

Nov 2, 2016, 17:06 IST

Ramin Talaie/Getty Images

A journalist uses Google's Daydream VR headset during an event to introduce Google hardware products on October 4, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Google unveils new products including the Google Pixel Phone making a jump into the mobile device market.

Google's new virtual reality headset is hitting stores on November 10.

The Daydream View will be available to purchase next week in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia, the Californian technology giant announced on Tuesday.

It'll go on sale in the US at Verizon and Best Buy for $79, while in the UK it will sell for £69 at EE and Carphone Warehouse.

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The Daydream View is Google's next big bet on virtual reality, and a successor to its dirt-cheap DIY Cardboard headset.

Like Cardboard, Daydream is powered by your Android smartphone - but you need a phone classified as "Daydream-ready" to ensure that it all runs smoothly. Right now, the only phone on the market that qualifies is the Google-made Pixel smartphone. Manufacturers are working on more, however, and it will likely come as standard in future premium Android smartphones.

It's a totally different approach to virtual reality to some of the other major players. Facebook-owned Oculus, Sony, and HTC all sell headsets that retail for hundreds of dollars, and which are reliant high-end computers or gaming consoles to run.

Daydream headsets, in contrast, are basically just a case that you slot your smartphone into and a motion-sensitive remote control.

As you might expect, the experience is much more basic than some of the competitors - but Google is betting that this is the best way to introduce people cheaply and easily to virtual reality.

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On launch, there will be a range of apps available for Daydream, including VR versions of YouTube and Hulu, apps from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, Google Street View, and a number of games.

"With Daydream View and a Daydream-ready phone like Pixel, you'll be able to kick back in your personal cinema, explore new worlds and get in the game like never before," Google VR director of product management Mike Jazayeri wrote in a blog post.

Here's the full list of prices and retailers: