Google Daydream
Google standardised phone-based virtual reality with a soft fabric headset and Android platform, then withdrew hardware and operating-system support as the market moved elsewhere.
Quick facts
- Existence state
- Officially Gone
- Peak stage
- general availability
- Research confidence
- high
- Last verified
What it was
A formally launched mobile virtual-reality platform, viewer and controller ecosystem developed by Google.
Daydream combined compatible Android phones, the Daydream View headset, a motion controller and a curated app environment for accessible VR.
Existence timeline
Google presents Daydream as an Android VR standard.
The fabric headset and controller reach general availability.
Several phone makers certify devices and Google releases a second viewer.
Google stops selling Daydream View and omits support from Pixel 4.
The Daydream VR app loses official support with Android 11.
Old compatible hardware can still run fragments without a maintained platform.
Why it ended
Google stopped selling Daydream View in 2019 and ended software support with Android 11 in 2020.
Last confirmed trace
Headsets and controllers still exist, while compatible old phones, standalone app packages and Google's support notice preserve partial functionality.
What it left behind
Daydream marks the moment smartphone VR shifted from an assumed mass-market bridge to a technological branch the largest platform owner abandoned.
How we classified it
The archive unit reached normal public release or operation and is no longer obtainable in its original public form.
Verified normal public availability maps to 100 under Arrival Score V1.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed 2026-08-01. Sources are linked so readers can inspect the evidence directly.