Device hub · VR / spatial · Desk research
Google Daydream View (2016)
2016 Daydream View is a $79 fabric phone shell.
Disclosure: Affiliate programs are not enrolled yet. See Affiliate disclosure. This page is manufacturer desk research, not a hands-on test — see Methodology.
Product images
Placeholder — OEM press not licensedGoogle’s 2016 Daydream blogs remain the official sources. Product photos are not hosted.
Credit: GadgetShowdown labeled placeholder (not a Google asset). View official product image
Studio still only. Manufacturer press JPEGs are not hosted here. See the official product page for the real product photo.
In short
2016 Daydream View is a $79 fabric phone shell. Keep Google’s relative “30% lighter.” Do not invent a FOV degree or grams. Do not copy the 2017 “wider FOV” View or Mirage Solo’s 835 / ~110° here.
Who it is for
- Owners documenting the first Daydream View from Google’s 2016 blogs plus the developer sunset notes.
Who should skip it
- Anyone shopping current standalone XR. Google VR Services are closed to new installs (November 2023).
- 6DoF / standalone shoppers. That is Mirage Solo (WorldSense), not this phone shell.
- People who need a published FOV degree or headset grams — not on the 2016 Google pages.
- Gear VR owners. Different platform (Oculus phone VR), different slug.
Key differentiators
- Phone-powered 3DoF; NFC / auto-alignment drop-in (Google 2016).
- Soft fabric; “30% lighter than similar devices” (relative); glasses-compatible.
- Daydream controller stores inside the headset. Launch colors Slate / Snow / Crimson.
- US $79 November 2016 (also 10 November store date on the follow-up blog).
Caveats
- No FOV degree on the 2016 announcement or 10 November store blog. The 2017 Pixel 2 post’s “wider field of view” is a second headset and still unpublished as degrees — do not invent 90°/100° here.
- “30% lighter than similar devices” is relative. Grams are unpublished — do not invent 220 g or 300 g.
- Display resolution, refresh, and chip live on the clipped Daydream-ready phone, not this fabric shell.
- 2017 “all-new” View (Fog / Charcoal / Coral; high-performance lenses) is an extras-row sibling, not this H1.
- No hands-on testing.
VR-category specs
Same rows on every headset hub (Vision Pro, Quest, Galaxy XR, PICO, PS VR2). FOV, weight, and battery cells quote the manufacturer footnote — they are not lab measurements.
| Attribute | Value | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Display type | Not published | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Display resolution | Not a visor pixel count on the 2016 blogs (accessed 2026-09-19). Resolution belongs to the phone | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Refresh rate (OEM) | Not published | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Field of view (OEM claim) | Not published | Google Daydream 2016 blogs; Pixel 2 / Daydream View 2017-10-04 blog |
| Optics / lenses | Not named pancake/Fresnel on the 2016 blog. Designed to fit over eyeglasses. 2017 View’s “high-performance lenses” sentence is the later headset | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Chip / processor | No headset SoC. Compute is the Daydream-ready phone (Android 7.0 Nougat-class on. | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| RAM / unified memory | Phone RAM only. Not a headset-GB cell | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| On-device storage | None in the visor (phone storage) | Product class |
| Operating system | Daydream on Android (2016: Android 7.0 Nougat-class Daydream-ready phones). Google: new users cannot install Google VR Services (com.google.vr.vrcore) as of November 2023 | 2016 Daydream blog; developers.google.com/vr/discover/daydream |
| Tracking | 3DoF orientation (Google Daydream platform). Microsoft’s later WMR FAQ still groups Daydream with Gear VR as neck-up 3DoF. Not WorldSense 6DoF | Google Daydream 2016 blog; Microsoft WMR FAQs |
| Controllers | Daydream controller in the 2016 box story; stores inside the headset. Sensors for point / gesture; 3DoF | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Other input | Auto-alignment / NFC-class phone-to-headset align (Google: “auto-alignment system”). No cables or connectors on the drop-in story | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| PC / console tether | None. Phone-powered mobile VR. Not a DisplayPort / HDMI visor | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| IPD | Not published | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Weight | Not published | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Passthrough / see-through | Not listed as color mixed-reality cameras on the 2016 blogs | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Eye tracking | Not listed | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Battery — headset (OEM) | None in the visor. Runtime is the phone. Controller battery not printed as hours on the 2016 posts | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Battery style | Phone-powered visor. Separate controller cell (capacity unpublished on the 2016 posts) | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Charging (OEM) | Charge the phone (and the controller) separately. Not a headset pack | Product class |
| Audio | Not printed as a speaker/jack row on the 2016 announcement (accessed 2026-09-19). Audio is the phone’s path unless a later accessory page is cited | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Wireless | Phone provides the radios. Controller is a wireless Daydream wand that stores in the headset | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Glasses / prescription | Designed to fit over eyeglasses (2016-10-04 blog) | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Platform / account lock | Daydream-ready Android phone + Google / Daydream store era. Not Gear VR / Oculus, not visionOS, not WMR | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Age / intended use (OEM) | Not stated as a numeric age on the 2016 blogs this pass (accessed 2026-09-19) | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| US list price (dated) | $79 USD, November 2016 (2016-10-04 blog; 2016-11-01 store date November 10). Also $99 CAD / £69 / €69 / $119 AUD. Not a 2026 street price | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 and 2016-11-01 blogs |
| Price band | Legacy phone-powered (2016 $79) | Google Daydream 2016 blogs |
| Announced / introduced | 4 October 2016 Daydream blog; US pre-order from 20 October 2016; stores 10 November 2016 | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 and 2016-11-01 blogs |
| Availability | Google developer hub: Daydream View no longer sold as of 15 October 2019. Google VR Services not installable for new users as of November 2023. This H1 is the 2016 first gen | developers.google.com/vr/discover/daydream |
Google Daydream View (2016) extras
Unique to this line or SKU. Other headsets keep the first table aligned and swap this extras list.
| Attribute | Value | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 View (not this H1) | 2017-10-04 Pixel 2 blog: “all-new” Daydream View; high-performance lenses; wider FOV (no degrees); Fog / Charcoal / Coral. Do not flatten onto 2016 Slate / Snow / Crimson | https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/google-ar-vr/pixel-2-and-daydream-view-new-experiences-ar-and-vr/ |
| 2016 colors | Slate, Snow, Crimson. Slate at launch in all five countries; Snow and Crimson later in US / UK / Australia | Google Daydream 2016-10-04 blog |
| Platform sunset | View left stores 2019-10-15. New users cannot install Google VR Services as of November 2023 | developers.google.com/vr/discover/daydream |
Overview
2016 Daydream View stays a hub so the 2017 “all-new” View and Mirage Solo are not flattened onto a $79 fabric shell. Standalone Daydream: /vr/lenovo-mirage-solo/. Phone-shell peer: /vr/samsung-gear-vr/.
| 2016 View (this H1) | 2017 “all-new” View | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2016-10-04 | 2017-10-04 |
| Colors | Slate / Snow / Crimson | Fog / Charcoal / Coral |
| FOV | No degree | “Wider field of view” — still no degree |
| US list | $79 | Not copied onto this H1 |
Sources
- Google blog — Daydream View announcement ($79, fabric, 30% lighter) — accessed 2026-09-19
- Google blog — Daydream View stores November 10, 2016 — accessed 2026-09-19
- Google developers — Daydream sunset (2019-10-15 / November 2023) — accessed 2026-09-19
- Google blog — 2017 all-new Daydream View (do not flatten onto this H1) — accessed 2026-09-19
Frequently asked questions
Is this Mirage Solo?
No. Mirage Solo is a standalone Snapdragon 835 headset. This slug is the 2016 phone-powered Daydream View.
What is the FOV?
Google’s 2016 blogs do not print a degree. The 2017 “wider field of view” sentence is a later headset and still has no number.
What does it weigh?
Google only printed “30% lighter than similar devices.” We do not invent grams.
Official product page: Google Daydream View (2016). Specs: Google Daydream View (2016) specs.