HBO is entering the world of VR with apps for HBO Now and HBO Go that run on Daydream View, Google’s new virtual reality headset that’s compatible with certain Android-powered smartphones such as the new Pixel and Moto Z and Moto Z Force.

HBO’s apps – for its standalone OTT service and TV Everywhere offering – lets authenticated users watch original series such as Game of Thrones and Westworld on a 2D screen rendered in a 360-degree, digitally-rendered environment.

HBO’s new apps were among several new offerings that are being launched, or will be soon (Netflix, for example), for Daydream View, the $79 headset that became available last month.

RELATED: Google Daydream View Hits Stores Nov. 10

Google also teed up this new sizzle reel for Daydream View:

The Daydream View, Google’s new mobile virtual reality headset/platform, becomes available today for $79, and most reviewers are liking what they've seen so far.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the early reviews:

-The Vergegave Daydream View a score of 8.5. While it is similar to Samsung’s Gear VR on a “structural level” and supports a hand-held controller, the pub noted there’s “no flashy features on Daydream” like inside-out-cameras or eye-tracking.

But the View “is the best mobile headset I’ve ever used,” Adi Robertson wrote, noting that it’s smaller, lighter and more portable than the Gear VR. And like the PlayStation VR, the Daydream  View “rests more weight on your forehead than your cheeks, an option I’ve found more comfortable — I can wear it easily for hours at a time, compared to about the five minutes I can hold a Google Cardboard to my face before my arms get stiff.”

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-Wired said the best things about Daydream View are about “what it isn’t:  Complicated, Heavy. Expensive. Finicky.” The reviewer also agreed that the headset can be worn and used comfortably “for long spells,” while the controller “enhances every experience.

While Daydream View doesn’t use positional-tracking VR capabilities like those found on cabled platforms like the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, “for a constrained VR experience, this is as good as I’ve seen,” the reviewer noted.

RELATED: Google Unveils Daydream View VR Headset, Controller

-The Wall Street Journal’s Nathan Olivarez-Giles also found Daydream View to be lighter and more comfortable than the rival Gear VR, but warned that consumers should understand that it “can’t come close to the level of precision found on more expensive and console VR systems” like the Vive and PS VR.  Like the Gear VR, VR apps and games will rapidly drain the phone’s battery.

-TechCrunch’s Lucas Matney also liked Google’s decision to go with a fabric-covered headset. “The View feels the least alien of any VR headset I’ve tried from a design standpoint and it’s also proven to be one of the more comfortable ones,” he wrote, but added that the width of the headset allows light to leak in – something that is “[a]nnoying, but not a deal breaker by any means." 

Thanks in part to the rise of smartphone-powered virtual reality platforms such as Google’s just-announced Daydream View, the installed base of VR headsets will soar from 4 million in 2015 to 81 million in 2020, IHS Technology predicts.

On the higher end of the VR headset spectrum, IHS also expects Sony’s PlayStation VR platform (for PS4 consoles) to outsell the two main PC-connected platforms – the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive – in 2016.  This year, IHS Technology forecasts that PlayStation VR will sell 1.4 million headsets, and generate $134 million in spending on VR entertainment, versus $69 million for PC-based headsets.

However, mobile VR headsets, such as the Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR and Daydream View, will nab the biggest share. IHS sees smartphone VR headsets representing 87% of the market’s installed base by the end of 2016.

RELATED: Google Unveils Daydream View VR Headset, Controller

On the mobile side, IHS expects the Gear VR to have the largest installed base of all major branded headsets with 5.4 million this year, but expects the Daydream View to “slowly disrupt Samsung’s dominant market position” and become the most popular headset for VR by 2019.

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IHS also expects consumers to spend $1.6 billion on VR headsets this year, bolstered by more expensive platforms like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Sony PS VR.

“Smartphone VR headsets will represent the largest addressable market for VR content because of cheaper pricing,” Ian Fogg, senior director at IHS Technology, said in a statement. “The smartphone VR base will be a major opportunity for VR content experimentation

“Smartphone VR headsets’ share of the VR installed base will be 87 percent at the end of 2016.”

However, the firm also expects higher-end VR headsets to dominate content monetization, with IHS predicting that consumer spending on VR entertainment will hit $3.3 billion by 2020, up from a mere $310 million in 2016.

RELATED: PlayStation VR Lands on October 13

“There will be a polarization of the VR market between lower volume premium VR headsets, which will have strong paid content conversion rates, and higher-volume cheaper smartphone VR headsets, which will monetise content at a lower rate,” Piers Harding-Rolls, director of games analysis at IHS Technology, noted. “A $3.3 billion VR entertainment market by 2020 will represent less than 1 percent of overall entertainment spending worldwide.”

Taking a bigger step into the world of virtual reality, Google introduced the Daydream View VR headset and controller, a pairing that will go on sale in November for $79.

Powered by Android, Daydream View must be paired with a compatible smartphone. Google’s new Pixel smartphone, also announced Tuesday, is the first announced Daydream-ready smartphone. 

RELATED: Google's VR 'Daydream' Nearing Reality

Daydream View, introduced Tuesday amid a flurry of hardware/software product announcements from Google, will be competing in the sector against other mobile-based VR platforms such as Samsung’s Oculus-powered Gear VR. Google announced the Daydream VR initiative in May.

Clay Bavor, who heads Google’s VR team, said Daydream will be underpinned by an integrated content ecosystem and a headset that is focused on comfort.

Notably, the Daydream View is crafted out of soft microfibers and other materials that are found in clothing and athletic wear, he said, claiming that the new headset will be 30% lighter than similar devices and fit over a person’s eyeglasses.  The Daydream View is initially offered in Slate, with Snow and Crimson versions coming later.

The Daydream View controller features a clickable touchpad and two buttons, and is outfitted with sensors designed to respond as the user swipes and aims.

On the content end, Daydream View will be booting up with some exclusive fare, including a VR experience from Warner Bros. based on J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Adrienne McCallister, director of partnerships for Daydream, said more than 50 partners are on board to bring apps and games to the platform before the end of the year, with “hundreds” more on the way. HBO, Netflix and Hulu are among the initial announced content partners for Daydream.

Google will also integrate some of its own apps and services for Daydream, including Google Play Movies, Google Photos, Google Street View and YouTube.

Pixel, the first Daydream-ready smartphone, is also the first smartphone to build-in Google Assistant, the company’s voice-based AI platform.

Pixel, which features a 12.3 megapixel camera, HDR+ and a video stabilization component, starts at $649 or $27 per month, with preorders starting today, with Verizon on board with the U.S. exclusive.  Consumers can also buy an unlocked Pixel at the Google Store.

Watch this promo video about Daydream View: