Over 10 million Google Cardboard viewers have been shipped since 2014

Google announced that it has shipped over 10 million Cardboard viewers since first releasing the low-budget VR alternative in 2014. Somewhere around 5 million of those shipments took place within the past year alone. 

The basic model of the smartphone-powered virtual reality headset is made of, you guessed it, cardboard and sets purchasers back about $15 dollars. Other companies like Mattel and Speck offer their own variation on the barebones headset that range in price from $5 to $70, but the core Google Cardboard VR family still represents one of the most affordable VR experiences in the market.

There has been a total of 160 million downloads of Cardboard apps across the Google Play digital storefront, which is up significantly from the 25 million installs reported last January. Of that 160 million, 30 individual apps have had more than 1 million downloads a piece.

Meanwhile, Google says the three years of feedback gained from Cardboard has informed decisions made while creating its latest smartphone-powered VR venture, Daydream, which now sees an average 40 minutes of weekly, per-person use.