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Let’s take a moment to thank technology companies for altering our realities with each passing day. Your most loved video service YouTube will now also be available in virtual reality (VR) thanks to a new app. With its increased focus on VR, Google has now released a new app, dubbed YouTube VR that will let you browse YouTube and watch videos in an immersive manner.
The YouTube VR app, now available on the Android Play Store for free, follows the debut of Google’s Daydream View VR headset that went on sale this week. The Daydream View VR headset is an improved version of its earlier Cardboard device. With a hand-held remote controller, the Daydream VR headset offers an immersive experience to users watching 3D content. The app is compatible with devices running on Android 5.0 and later. It further supports the latest Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones which come with VR capabilities.
Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat comes with in-built VR capabilities. The mobile operating system comes with its VR mode, lets users watch immersive content. Unlike augmented reality (AR), the experience with VR requires a dedicated hardware for immersive viewing. On the other hand, AR superimposes information using real locations, something we have seen with the Pokemon Go game.
YouTube VR app when used with any VR-enabled smartphone and the Daydream View headset or such VR-ready headset will help one experience 360-degree videos in 3D. This doesn’t mean that it won’t show the regular videos. The app is merely an enhancer for YouTube content that is to be viewed with the immersive headset. Regular videos which are not VR-ready will be shown in a ‘theatre mode’. The app also has built-in spatial audio that offers varied sound experience depending on depth and distance when one is watching the content. The YouTube VR app is further voice-controlled for ease of access.
Recently, YouTube also announced Google Cardboard support for its iOS users. The YouTube for iOS app has lacked the ability to let users watch 3D content using their iPhones and Google’s affordable VR headset. With the Google Cardboard support, iOS users can now watch 360-degree video in virtual reality using the cardboard headsets or regular videos with a theatre-like immersive experience.
Google Cardboard is the predecessor to the newest Daydream VR headset and is also an affordable solution to those looking at experience mobile VR. The Daydream VR headset is priced at $79 (approximately Rs 5,300), which is still cheaper than a lot of VR headsets such as the Samsung Galaxy VR , Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. The headset was announced alongside Google’s first self-branded smartphones, the Pixel and Pixel XL.
Although the launch of the Daydream headset in India is still not officially announced, the company did bring its YouTube Kids app this week after its international debut over a year back. The family-friendly app brings popular shows, videos, educational content for kids in a new avatar. The free app further comes with parental control and numerous settings aimed at making learning fun for kids aged 2-10 years.
Google launches YouTube VR Android app to help you watch immersive content
The YouTube VR app, now available on the Android Play Store for free, follows the debut of Google’s Daydream View VR headset that went on sale this week. The Daydream View VR headset is an improved version of its earlier Cardboard device. With a hand-held remote controller, the Daydream VR headset offers an immersive experience to users watching 3D content. The app is compatible with devices running on Android 5.0 and later. It further supports the latest Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones which come with VR capabilities.
Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat comes with in-built VR capabilities. The mobile operating system comes with its VR mode, lets users watch immersive content. Unlike augmented reality (AR), the experience with VR requires a dedicated hardware for immersive viewing. On the other hand, AR superimposes information using real locations, something we have seen with the Pokemon Go game.
YouTube VR app when used with any VR-enabled smartphone and the Daydream View headset or such VR-ready headset will help one experience 360-degree videos in 3D. This doesn’t mean that it won’t show the regular videos. The app is merely an enhancer for YouTube content that is to be viewed with the immersive headset. Regular videos which are not VR-ready will be shown in a ‘theatre mode’. The app also has built-in spatial audio that offers varied sound experience depending on depth and distance when one is watching the content. The YouTube VR app is further voice-controlled for ease of access.
Recently, YouTube also announced Google Cardboard support for its iOS users. The YouTube for iOS app has lacked the ability to let users watch 3D content using their iPhones and Google’s affordable VR headset. With the Google Cardboard support, iOS users can now watch 360-degree video in virtual reality using the cardboard headsets or regular videos with a theatre-like immersive experience.
Google Cardboard is the predecessor to the newest Daydream VR headset and is also an affordable solution to those looking at experience mobile VR. The Daydream VR headset is priced at $79 (approximately Rs 5,300), which is still cheaper than a lot of VR headsets such as the Samsung Galaxy VR , Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. The headset was announced alongside Google’s first self-branded smartphones, the Pixel and Pixel XL.
Although the launch of the Daydream headset in India is still not officially announced, the company did bring its YouTube Kids app this week after its international debut over a year back. The family-friendly app brings popular shows, videos, educational content for kids in a new avatar. The free app further comes with parental control and numerous settings aimed at making learning fun for kids aged 2-10 years.
Google launches YouTube VR Android app to help you watch immersive content
