Rumored Facebook Video App Will Bring Virtual Reality To Your Smartphone
Virtual reality has so far remained in the domain of sci-fi, but the past few years have seen it gaining a foothold in gaming. Now, it seems virtual reality will soon be brought to smartphones via a Facebook video app.
People were surprised when the social media giant jumped on the virtual reality bandwagon and bought Oculus, the groundbreaking virtual reality headset maker. Speculations abounded on what Facebook would do with the company or how it would fit in its program. However, reports have now surfaced that Facebook is developing a video app for smartphones.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Mark Zuckerberg’s company is developing a stand-alone Facebook video app that will be able to support virtual reality videos. These videos, which are also called 360-degree or “spherical” videos, are so-named because they are shot in 360 degrees, usually with a multi-camera setup to allow viewers to literally have a 360 degree view of the scene. Viewers can change the perspective by simply tilting or panning their phones or mobile device. The format has already been introduced on YouTube and has quickly gained a following.
The main idea is to have the video app work on various platforms so that it would run well on both iOS and Android devices. Development of the Facebook video app is reportedly in the early stages and there’s no word yet on when, or if ever, the app will be released. Facebook has also refused to comment on this allegedly confidential project.
Some naysayers have claimed that Zuckerberg’s proposed video app is technically not VR as it’s not immersive enough. However, the Facebook CEO believes that the company can come up with a design of the Oculus Rift that will be able to support mobile devices, the way that the Google Cardboard or Samsung’s Gear VR does.
The 31-year-old Zuckerberg had previously mentioned that Facebook would be supporting spherical videos on its news feed, with users able to “move around inside the video and view it from different angles.”
The Oculus headset, on the other hand, would be used to in a number of new “immersive” activities like watching live concerts or basketball games to going to virtual doctor appointments.
Analysts have described Zuckerberg’s vision of virtual reality as beyond what hard-core gamers envision, but it will “take a few years to play out.”
The proposed Facebook video app would probably be a less immersive or total experience than that of a headset. But the company’s foray in virtual reality technology could help extend it beyond what the Oculus can offer and push the technology farther and to a much wider audience.
[Image via aliexpress.com]
