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Hang With Your Friends in VR With Mozilla Hubs

Hubs works right in your browser, and since it's built on the WebVR standard, it supports 'every single mixed reality headset,' Mozilla said.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Mozilla just unveiled a new experiment called Hubs, which makes it easy to get together with others in virtual reality.

Hubs works in the browser, and since it's built on the WebVR standard, it supports "every single mixed reality headset," Mozilla's Sean White wrote in a blog post. That includes the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and cheaper alternatives like Daydream and Cardboard.

Just head over to Hubs, and create a room with a single click, then share the URL with others. "No app store. No gatekeepers. No installation process. Just click and you are there," White wrote. Friends who don't have a VR headset can also join in the fun from their desktop or mobile phone.

You can choose from several different scenes when creating your room, including a "medieval fantasy book," a sparsely decorated atrium, or a futuristic meeting place. When you enter, you'll add a display name, and select one of the robot-styled avatars.

"When in the room, you can see one another, move around, and pick up and throw virtual objects," Mozilla's Greg Fodor wrote. "And of course, you can hear each other's voices with fully spatialized audio, so it sounds like you are in a real place."

On the privacy front, Mozilla said it won't record or store any audio from your VR parties. When you agree to let Hubs use your microphone, it will stay on as long as you remain in a room, unless you turn it off.

Mozilla plans to release new Hubs tools and features in the "coming months," including "kits to create your own custom spaces, powerful avatar and identity options, integrations with existing communications tools, and more." For now, the browser maker is encouraging users to give this preview a try and share feedback about the experience.

The launch of Hubs comes after Mozilla last year formed a team focused on creating social experiences using mixed reality and the open web. This is the first experiment it has released as part of that effort. "We think [Hubs] showcases the potential for the web to become the best, most accessible platform to bring people together around the world in this new medium," Fodor wrote.

Last year, Facebook—which owns Oculus—added the ability to share live video on Facebook from its Spaces VR app to "give people you care about a window into your VR world."

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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