Back when Google first launched Cardboard into the Play Store, it was viewed as little more than an experiment, a neat little gimmick that would never make it to the mainstream. This week, however, marks the launch of the proper, version 1.0 product that Cardboard was laying the groundwork for; Daydream. Compatible only with the Pixel and Pixel XL right now – with Nexus device and more devices to support it soon – Daydream is a platform that is finding its legs still, but rather than walking as Cardboard did, Google is hitting the ground running. Launch games have hit the Play Store, and now the Google Arts & Culture VR app is available in the Play Store for lucky Daydream Viewer owners.
As the name suggests, this is an app that’s all about getting up close and personal with the more culutral things in life, such as great works of art across the centuries. Some of these paintings allow users to zoom in and get a closer look at them, and considering that a lot of these works are those in expensive museums spread out all over the world, it’s nice to see Google bring them to us in this immersive fashion. On top of all this, there’s also audio guides for some of the works, and while the amount of content right now feels a little limited, it’s a pretty decent launch app to go with the new platform. If you think of a virtual museum building and tour thereof, then you’d get the general idea of what this app will be like to use.
While the app is available in the Play Store, it won’t be much good for those that don’t have a Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P or a Daydream Viewer. That’s because right now these are the only devices that support Daydream officially, and even then a Cardboard-spec VR headset won’t be able to run this app, either. With that said, the Play Store link down below will take users to the Google Arts & Culture VR page and they can install it from there. A good first effort from Google, there’s no doubt a lot more where this came from.
