Google Cardboard now available in Google Play in UK, Canada, Germany and France

That’s right, you couldn’t officially buy Google Cardboard from Google Play in Canada, the UK, France or Germany until today. The U.S. Play Store has had Cardboard availability since February but VR fans in other regions were stuck with a variety of imitation Cardboards on the likes of Amazon or eBay.  By releasing Google’s DIY VR headset in more regions, these markets can now enjoy all the 360-degree video, photo and VR content available in Google Play and on YouTube.

The pricing for Google Cardboard is pretty standard: $20 in Canada, £15 in the UK and €20 in France and Germany. There’s also a discount if you buy two Google Cardboards at the same time: $35 in Canada, £25 in the UK and €30 in France and Germany. For now, Cardboard is the only VR offering in Google Play in these markets.

While Cardboard was at first seen as a simple toy, it has quickly grown to be the default affordable VR unit, with Samsung’s $99 Gear VR next up the ladder before hitting the premium peaks of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. An unassuming piece of folded cardboard, Google’s DIY VR viewer has been successful enough that the company is reportedly working on both a high-end standalone VR headset and a more premium plastic version of Cardboard, perhaps called Google Plastic (that was a joke).

• We expect to hear a lot more about VR at Google I/O 2016 next week.

Have you tried Google Cardboard? What do you think of it?

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