As is often the case with technology, new ways to experience content often leave us looking for ways to repurpose the old. Virtual reality is one of those cases: 360-degree videos are great, but what about those old 2D videos? You watch them in virtual reality on a virtual big screen, of course. This was already available for Daydream users watching YouTube Videos, but other services are coming to the platform fairly quickly
Last month, HBO debuted an “unreleased” Daydream-compatible version of HBO Go in the Google Play Store. At the time, we wondered when we might see the company’s stand-alone service HBO Now join the party, and it seems that we didn’t have long to wait, as Google announced the app’s arrival on Daydream in a blog post on Thursday.
If you’re a fan of the Daydream technology but looking for more variety in your programming, you won’t have to wait for long. Alongside the arrival of HBO Now and the now-official HBO Go app, Google announced that Netflix would be coming to Daydream later this month. No specific date was given, but the company said it will arrive “in time for the holidays.”
Many phones these days offer some form of VR, but this app is Daydream-only, meaning a tiny fraction of phones are currently supported: Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL, and the Moto Z. Gear VR users will have to look for their entertainment fixes elsewhere, at least for the time being.
If this idea has you thinking about hopping on board the VR train and you own a compatible phone, take a look at our review of the Daydream View headset for a better idea of whether it’s for you. Both HBO Go VR and HBO Now VR are available in the Google Play Store now.
Updated on 12-08-2016 by Kris Wouk: Added news of HBO Now VR’s release and of Netflix’s impending release
