IMPORTANT NOTICE: YouTube VR has been retired and is no longer available, neither on Google Play Store nor on the App Store.
So, you're interested in the widely popular, ever developing Virtual Reality world, and got your hands on Google's Daydream VR platform. What's next?
In case you don’t know, Daydream is a VR headset, a platform created by Google. You need a Daydream-ready phone (a supported Android or iOS smartphone) to work as the display and processing unit. And it’s thanks to a number of apps and games that you can get involved in a full Virtual Reality experience.
YouTube VR is one of the must-have apps you need to make the most of your VR journey with Daydream. As the developers themselves state, with YouTube VR you can “experience every YouTube channel, video and creator in virtual reality”. These are some of the app’s features:
- Full VR experience: get into any YouTube video and have an immersive experience, both with traditional 2D videos (good old rectangular ones) and content designed specifically for VR platforms (videos in full 360-degree format).
- Theater mode: Regular, not-VR videos are displayed in a virtual big screen. Rediscover your favorite channels and favorite videos, and be prepared for a whole new dimension in VR!
- Immersive browsing: You can browse through YouTube's library using voice commands, keyboard controls and even head movements, and watch videos on a virtual screen for a fully engaging virtual reality experience. Watching and browsing can be done simultaneously, just as in the regular YouTube app.
- Spatial audio: YouTube VR has spatial audio built in the app. When you move your head in the virtual environment, the spatial audio adjusts right away. If you hear a sound and move your head towards the source, the sound will seem to come from the spot where you're looking at, just as in real life.
Supported devices
You can download the YouTube VR app from Google Play Store for Android devices or the App Store for iOS devices. Make sure you check the compatibility of your smartphone with your VR headset.
User complaints
As YouTube released its independent VR app, many users complained that yet another separate YouTube app for VR videos doesn’t contribute to Android’s unification. Why not include the VR-related features into the existing YouTube app, and keep things simple? To answer these demands, the company stated that adding VR-specific attributes to the main app would mean a bigger storage demand for all users, including those who don’t have access to or are not interested in VR functionalities.
So, it actually is simpler for developers, who can fix bugs, update and check the apps’ usage more easily if they’re separate. In conclusion, they’re saying you should be thankful that the YouTube app is not a massive, storage-draining one, and that YouTube VR is what it is. Once you download it and experience the VR world, I don’t think having a separate app on your phone would be a problem.
Watching a video with YouTube VR
- Open the app and look for a VR video using the search bar (you can watch any video, but just to make the most of this first experience, I suggest you go for a 360 VR one).
- Open the video you want to watch, and then tap the gear icon (Settings) on the top right of the screen. From the menu, select "Watch in VR" to turn on the VR mode. You'll see the screen split into two smaller screens.
- Insert your phone into your VR headset.
You’re all set to dive into the virtual environment of the video and experience it from within! If you want to get your senses into a whole new immersive YouTube experience, go ahead and get the app. You'll be definitely coming back for more!
