Back in November Google unleashed VR content on the YouTube platform, bringing Cardboard features to YouTube’s Android app. With the update, YouTube seemingly became one of the largest VR content platforms over night. But there was always one thing sorely missing – iOS support.
Now all you iPhone users can finally rejoice, YouTube for iOS has finally been updated today with Google Cardboard support, letting you watch all video in Cardboard mode on your iPhone.
To activate Cardboard mode, tap on the top-right corner menu (three circles) of a video and select the Cardboard viewing option. The video will change to show you two images, left eye and right eye, that you can now appropriately use to watch in your VR viewer. Not only can watching VR videos with something like a Google Cardboard viewer give you a sense of depth to the video, it can also be a more immersive experience, where you feel like you’re actually there.
Even if the video was not filmed in 360°, standard videos will still give you a Cardboard viewing option to experience in “Virtual Movie Theater” mode. Non-360° videos will have the same Cardboard icon where you can then drop your iPhone into a Cardboard viewer and watch the video as if it was a floating screen in front of you.
Google’s annual I/O developer conference kicks off tomorrow and we can expect VR to be a big focus for the company. Stay tuned for more updates.
