If you thought Facebook was finished changing how you interact with your phone, think again. Specifically, the social network is looking to bring virtual reality to your smartphone via a new standalone video app that will support 360-degree or “spherical” videos.
That’s according to a report from the Wall Street Journal and their “people familiar with the matter.” The app will reportedly let you view images from multiple perspectives and will work across platforms, though Facebook has yet to confirm the existence of such an app.
Facebook has been looking to virtual reality as the next big thing
It is no secret, though, that Facebook has been looking to virtual reality as the next big thing. The social network purchased Oculus VR last year and CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned supporting spherical video in Facebook News Feeds back in March. We can expect to have our hands on Oculus Rift headsets by the first quarter of next year.
The video app would apparently be an extension of the virtual reality side of things, expanding the technology to an audience that may not yet be interested in VR. However, with an estimated 1.5 million headsets to be sold next year according to Deutsche Bank, it might not be long before VR becomes as standard as a touch screen in our everyday social lives.