Google today announced Daydream, a new phone-based VR setup for Android. This is an evolution of the Google Cardboard proof-of-concept, though will apparently only work on new phones designed for it. The Verge has details on where they are taking this:

Daydream — which encompasses both hardware and software — is a more advanced successor to Cardboard, the disposable headset standard that Google released two years ago. It's a mobile VR system powered by the next wave of Android N devices, built to a company-approved standard. Where Google Cardboard worked with almost any smartphone, Daydream will only work on new phones with specific components like special sensors and screens. There's no sign of something like Project Tango's spatial mapping or augmented reality options, but the components are supposed to offer a smoother, lower-latency experience than you could get by simply adding VR as a software update.

For phones that can handle it, Google is baking a feature called Android VR Mode into the latest version of its operating system. Hinted at in leaks before the show, VR Mode includes a series of optimizations that will improve apps' performance. But it's also an ecosystem that users will be able to navigate inside virtual reality. A Daydream home screen will let people access apps and content while using the headset; an early look shows a whimsical forest landscape with the slightly low-poly look that Google has used in Cardboard apps. Inside this environment, Google has created special VR versions of YouTube, Street View, the Google Play Store, Play Movies, and Google Photos. It's also recruited a number of outside media companies to bring apps to Daydream, including streaming platforms like Netflix and gaming companies like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.