Michael Crider
Do you remember Daydream, Google’s mobile-focused VR platform? Google doesn’t—they added it to the graveyard late last year, and the latest Pixel phones don’t support the VR headsets. After being updated to Android 10 (the latest OS release), now some of Samsung’s flagship devices don’t work with it, either.
9to5Google reports that Samsung Galaxy phones that have had over-the-air updates to Android 10, and the latest version of Samsung’s proprietary One UI skin, no longer work with Daydream headsets. A flag in the operating system was left disabled, meaning phones that formerly worked with the headsets no longer trigger that compatible action.
This doesn’t appear to be any kind of competitive issue, as one might expect, since Samsung sold its own Gear-branded VR headsets. The last device to be officially compatible with those was the Galaxy Note 9, so Samsung has no market advantage in leaving Daydream support in the dust.
It should be possible to re-enable Daydream support with a little software tweaking, from either Samsung or end users modding their phones. The apps and games are still available on the Play Store. But at this point, it’s hard to imagine throngs of people going out of their way to indulge in a dead platform.
Source: 9to5Google
