Word has it that Facebook is working on a new virtual reality app that would let you view 360-degree videos on your phone.
Citing unnamed "people familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported that Facebook is still in the "early stages" of developing the app, but it's eventually expected to work on iOS and Android. At this point, details are scant and there's no word as to when the app may be released.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The effort follows Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of VR firm Oculus VR last year. It isn't too much of a surprise, given that Facebook's Chief Product Officer Chris Cox in February said the company has been playing around with VR app creation. CEO Mark Zuckerberg also talked up VR during a Q&A this summer, calling it the "next major computing and communication platform after phones."
"In the future we'll probably still carry phones in our pockets, but I think we'll also have glasses on our faces that can help us out throughout the day and give us the ability to share our experiences with those we love in completely immersive and new ways that aren't possible today," Zuckerberg said.
As the Journal noted, Facebook's upcoming VR app would be less immersive than what you'd get from an Oculus Rift, but could help push more people into VR.
Oculus chief scientist Michael Abrash earlier this year laid out a vision of what VR can be in the future — and it's pretty cool.
Your hands will eventually be as capable in VR as they are in the real world, he predicted. Visuals and audio will get better, and virtual worlds will seem real. You'll be able to see your own body when you look down and port the real world into VR, so you can, for instance, pick up your coffee cup or use your computer and mouse without taking off your headset.
The news comes ahead of the Oculus developer conference in Los Angeles next week.
Meanwhile, the Sleepy Hollow Virtual Reality Experience, created for the Oculus Rift, won an Emmy this weekend for "User Experience and Visual Design," marking the first time the awards have honored a VR work.
Source: pcmag.com
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