The Galaxy S8 lineup might be getting updated with support for Google’s virtual reality (VR) platform Daydream that the Mountain View, California-based tech giant promised back in May, with one owner of the Galaxy S8 Plus recently taking to Reddit to confirm that they have received a new Google VR Services update that apparently promises to make the device compatible with both Cardboard and Daydream apps and experiences. The client-side update is approximately 7.8MB in size and is available for download through the Google Play Store, or at least it was made available for that particular user. As of this writing, it seems that the majority of owners of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are yet to receive the latest software package that promises to include them in Google’s growing VR ecosystem.
It’s currently unclear whether Google and Samsung have now started a worldwide rollout of Daydream support for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus or if the update is part of a limited test. The source didn’t have the Daydream View to test the functionality and another Reddit user subsequently chipped in by noting how Google VR Services were also just updated on their Redmi Note 3, indicating how the software package may not be exclusively related to the Galaxy S8 lineup. Due to the fact that only a single report of the new update has emerged so far and that the main changelog of Google VR Services only mentions “bug fixes” as part of the latest build, the possibility of the Galaxy S8 series now receiving Daydream support remains dubious.
The addition of Samsung’s latest flagship duo to Google’s VR ecosystem was initially announced at the latest iteration of Google I/O developer conference earlier this year, though both companies have yet to clarify what prompted their decision to collaborate seeing how Samsung also has its proprietary VR platform in the form of Gear VR that directly competes with Daydream. The aforementioned source claims that Daydream apps don’t work with the Gear VR headset following the update, which is to be expected even if the software package truly added support for Google’s VR solution.
