If Google Inc. reveals its new virtual reality headset at an event in San Francisco Tuesday, as it’s expected to do, one thing will be apparent: This machine won’t be aimed at current VR fanatics.

Early reports suggest that theDaydream VR will be considerably cheaper than its competitor, the Samsung Gear VR, priced at just $79 if the rumor mill is correct.

Announced last March, Daydream VR has been compared to the Samsung Gear VR. The major difference is that the former won’t come with a touch-pad control but will have a motion censoring controller much like the Wii, according to reports. The Daydream is expected to come with a hefty number of video and gaming partners, including IMAX, CNN, Netflix, Lionsgate and games such as EVE Gunjack Next and Need for Speed: No Limits.

The Oculus Rift headset will no doubt provide those yearning for the VR experience more of a thrill, with its superior specs and design. But how many people who haven’t even tried VR are going to spend more than $2,000 for that, including the high-class personal computer the Oculus requires?

It only makes sense that people will test the waters with the cheaper model and perhaps upgrade later. You’ve also got Sony’s PlayStation VR, dubbed as cheaper than Oculus Rift, though it’s still $399 plus hidden costs.

Let’s face it, both the Sony and the Oculus devices are a lot of money to spend for most people. Google, which had some success with the ultra-low-end Cardboard VR smartphone holder, may have the right approach in offering a real VR viewer that’s priced to be almost an impulse purchase.

The headset is expected to be released as Google also unveils its next smartphones, the Pixel and Pixel XL (codenamed Sailfish and Marlin), 5-inch and 5.5-inch phones that are expected to have a starting price of about $649.  The phones are made by Taiwanese electronics firm HTC, which according to reports is also making the VR headset.

Photo credit: Google