Facebook’s purchase of Oculus should signal to everyone the social media company’s intent to play a large role in virtual reality. Samsung and Facebook worked together to produce the Korean giant’s first-gen. Gear VR, as Facebook supplied the Oculus VR software while Samsung crafted its own headset. That was in 2014, and Facebook and Samsung are still working together. Many would argue that the Samsung-Facebook partnership has been a success, since Samsung sold more Gear VR headsets in 2016 than the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR sold combined.
The Mark Zuckerberg-run company has promised to bring 360-degree photos and videos to Gear VR (which is powered by Oculus) and is making good on that promise today by announcing Facebook 360 for Samsung Gear VR. The Facebook 360 app provides 4 sections: 1) Explore, letting you find 360-degree content from companies and individuals alike, 2) Following, where you find content from those you’re following on your friends list, 3) Saved, the place where you can access all the content you save, and 4) timeline, where you can relive your own 360-degree moments that you upload to the site.
Currently, there’s 1 million 360-degree videos and and 25 million 360-degree photos available on Facebook, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble to find VR content on the social media site. Additionally, you can always pick up a Samsung Gear 360 camera and create your own VR moments to upload to Facebook. I’ve been testing out the Gear 360 and find it to be loads of fun so far.
If you’re ready for your very own VR moments or those of others, head on over to the Oculus Store in your Gear VR app, search for Facebook 360, then download it and give it a spin. Let us know what 360-degree photo and video experiences you’ve encountered so far.
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