Virtual reality has not quite taken off in the way that many expected, but it is still a very striking format. A couple of years ago, the VR technology became a huge trend with the Samsung Galaxy S7 presentation conference in which Mark Zuckerberg walked among a sea of attendants dressed in VR Gear.
Enjoying the best content in virtual reality does not require specialized, complex or expensive devices. With a modern smartphone and plastic or nylon glasses like the new Daydream glasses, the technology of today’s accelerometers, gyroscopes, and high-resolution screens can bring an immersive experience that makes virtual reality attractive.
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Here we share with you the top 7 virtual reality apps for Android and iOS!
1. Sites In VR
Travel without leaving your home chair – this is the premise offered by Sites In VR, a platform that offers high-quality images in 360 degrees to visit monuments and architectural gems around the world. After about 30 seconds of calibration, the process which only requires you to leave the phone on a flat surface, you will enter a world full of interesting Islamic architectural wonders such as tombs, palaces of sultans, towers, parks, squares, and mosques. You can also explore Arab and European countries, including the Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower and even the planet Mars.
Download for free on iOS | Android
2. Google Spotlight Stories
Spotlight Stories is a team within the group ATAP, the incubator of advanced projects of Google, which develops audiovisual pieces of 360 degrees of cinematographic quality. They have a very good selection of really pleasant virtual reality videos, both visually and aurally. They are responsible for making the first 360-degree video of the story nominated for an Oscar. It is an animated and short documentary named Pearl, also available on YouTube. The last one was Back to the Moon, a beautiful story in virtual reality, the first one that starred in one of the famous Google Doodles.
Download for free on iOS | Android
3. Within
This application includes very good examples of virtual reality where entertainment and information are mixed to bring short but intense experiences in which we can enjoy a new way of consuming relevant content. Within brings together the work of professional creators at an international level with pieces by Apple, Vice or NBC. Within has experiences set in series such as the popular Mr. Robot or the Walking Dead, and also The Possible, a series of videos created by the people responsible for the application and who play different technological topics. The catalog is renewed often, and the documentaries are of great quality.
Download for free on iOS | Android
4. NYT VR
Taking you to places where you normally would not have access is one of the objectives of the editorial team of the renowned New York Times publication. It aims to delve into the possibilities of virtual reality. The videos on this app can be streamed, but NYT VR also includes download options to enjoy its content accompanied by spatial sound. It is a sound technique with which the brain is deceived into imagining distances, directions, and depths without losing any of its relevant content.
Download for free on iOS | Android
5. Fulldive VR
Self-defined as a social virtual reality platform, Fulldive VR accumulates more than one million videos and images generated by users of the same application from different parts of the world. They ensure that 100% of the content has been shared by individuals, but also offers channels with the content in 360 degrees that has been uploaded to YouTube. It allows you to follow what your friends have uploaded, seen or commented at any time. It is a virtual reality app with social network functions.
Fulldive VR offers a complete virtual reality experience. The 360 -degree navigation menus surround the user at all angles of vision and have a “Discover” section where you can explore the available content that is the most appealing to the community of users. Each piece of content can be commented on and evaluated and includes reactions in the form of smileys. In addition to that, the app includes 500 titles of games from its own market, although the games are a bit simple.
Download for free on iOS | Android
6. YouTube VR
The videos in 360 degrees came to the YouTube application for Android in 2015. Since then, the platform has not stopped receiving new content recorded in this format, and the number of examples is huge. The quality varies a lot since anyone with a 360-degree camera can upload new videos, but the user experience is very good. Another cool feature is that the search for videos can be done with your voice.
The normal videos can be seen within the application with the Theater Mode in which the video appears as a great virtual screen. All the YouTube features are included in this app such as playlists, favorite videos, history, subscriptions, etc. 360-degree videos are often accompanied by spatial sound which is also supported by this Google application.
The application does not have a version for iOS devices, although it can be said that the YouTube application for Apple phones supports 360-degree videos and is compatible with Cardboard viewers, so it is possible to use any VR headset with the official application to view content from YouTube in virtual reality.
Download for free on iOS | Android
7. LIFE VR
Every month, the editors of LIFE from the Time Inc. conglomerate (a mass media that includes names such as Time, Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated, Life itself and many other renowned publications) select the best immersive content they have published. Then, they present them in this application where users can enjoy professional-looking virtual reality for free.
Some of the best recent stories published in this group of North American media with international transcendence are presented to the eyes of an avid user, both in its narrative structure and in its visual aspect. This is definitely an essential application to enjoy high-level virtual reality.
Download for free on iOS | Android
Final Words
These are the top 7 must-have VR apps for Android and iOS this 2019. If you don’t have them in your smartphones, install them now for an unparalleled virtual reality experience!