YouTube announces virtual reality video is now supported on Android

YouTube announced Thursday that their Android app now supports virtual reality using Google Cardboard.

YouTube VR has designated Google Cardboard as the way you can watch and will turn your smartphone into a virtual reality theater when placed inside the headset.

YouTube released 360-degree video uploads this past March and claims that if you were excited about that, you'll think this is 'pretty freakin' cool'. With Google Cardboard, you can now view those 360-degree videos in 3D.

The news from YouTube came with two interesting announcements that look to enhance the mobile experience on their Android app. The obvious first is YouTube's compatibility with VR and the second being what Google Cardboard can now do for all existing videos on their platform.

​Senior Product Manager Kurt Wilms of YouTube VR announced the new capabilities in a news release,

"First, YouTube now supports VR video—a brand new kind of video that makes you feel like you’re actually there. Using the same tricks that we humans use to see the world, VR video gives you a sense of depth as you look around in every direction. Near things look near, far things look far. So if you were excited about 360° videos, this is pretty freakin’ cool."

​"Our second bit of news is for the universe of existing YouTube content. And that’s the fact that you can now watch any video using Google Cardboard, and experience a kind of virtual movie theater. Just select the new “Cardboard” option from the watch page menu, drop your phone into your viewer, and you’re done. You’ll now have the largest VR content library right at your fingertips."

Since YouTube is still in the beginning stages virtual reality, there isn't a lot of viewable VR content as of now, but it should be expected that more videos will be added soon. 

​If you already own a headset, you can go to their playlist of VR videos right now to check it out.

Source : infoblizzard.com