YouTube today pressed play on new virtual reality features for its mobile app.
Once you procure an Android smartphone, the latest YouTube app, and a Google Cardboard viewer, you'll be ready to watch the new VR-supported videos on YouTube.
"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," YouTube product managers Kurt Wilms, Sanjeev Verma, and Husain Bengali wrote in a blog post. "Near things look near, far things look far. So if you were excited about 360° videos, this is pretty freakin' cool."
To test it out, tap the new Cardboard icon and drop your phone into your Cardboard viewer to start watching VR content like the Hunger Games Experience and TOMS Shoes Giving Trip. "If you're a creator, you can also check out technologies like Jump to capture and share your own VR videos," the team said.
Until YouTube bulks up its VR video library, meanwhile, Google Cardboard owners can watch any video using the headset to "experience a kind of virtual movie theater." Select the "Cardboard" option from the video's watch page menu, insert your phone into the viewer, and start watching.
"You'll now have the largest VR content library right at your fingertips," YouTube said.
The Google-owned company in March launched support for 360-degree videos (of varying quality) at youtube.com/360. A few months later, it teased more immersive content, promising that "virtual reality is coming" via 3D videos.
Google Cardboard is available in varying forms, starting at $10. It debuted during Google I/O 2015, and many people initially thought the device was a joke. But the cardboard viewer and its mobile app are now available in 39 languages and more than 100 countries.