Galaxy S8 to get Google Daydream support in coming months

Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be the latest smartphone to support the Google Daydream Virtual Reality platform. A software updated adding support for Google's headsets is due out in the coming months, slated for the American summer.

Samsung was announced as a Google Daydream partner around this time last year, but its smartphones have only supported the company's own Gear VR platform to date.

Gear VR and Daydream are both quite similar these days, but there's a couple of key differences. Daydream headsets don't require a physical connection to a phone, while the Gear VR does; Daydream apps can be purchased through the Play Store, while Gear VR apps need to be purchased through the third-party Oculus store; and the Google-made Daydream headset is about 100 grams lighter than Samsung's Gear VR. Both virtual reality platforms support motion controllers.

Google has also confirmed LG's next flagship device will also ship with Daydream support.

At present, Daydream VR support has been limited to just a few devices: Google's own Pixel and Pixel XL, Motorola's Moto Z, and ZTE's Axon 7.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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