Google's New Virtual Reality Platform Is Called Daydream

Today at its I/O developers' conference, Google announced Daydream, a new platform for mobile virtuality reality.

Daydream, which will run on Android, will work on smartphones. A variety of phones from major manufacturers will have Daydream-compatible specs by this fall.

Google VP of virtual reality Clay Bavor boasted of Daydream's extremely low latency — under 20 milliseconds — a number that elicited gasps from people in the crowd at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

The company showed off a reference design for a Daydream headset, which is not a finished product, into which users would slot their smartphone.

Google also showed off a controller for Daydream: a small, two-button biscuit that features orientation sensors that have become fairly standard in game controllers.

"Developers we shared it with absolutely love it," said Bavor.

Daydream will support a suite of video streaming and news apps, including apps from Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Major League Baseball, and the New York Times.

Daydream will launch this fall.