The drawn-out death of VR on Android is now more or less complete as the Google Store has ceased selling its Google Cardboard DIY VR goggles.
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In November, Google Cardboard was open-sourced as the company stopped active development on the affordable, smartphone-based VR platform. As promised, Google today released the Cardboard Unity SDK to continue letting the community develop with the platform.
Last month, Google stopped selling Daydream View as modern Android phones — including the Pixel 4 — lack support. The company’s mobile virtual reality offerings are being further diminished today as Google Cardboard gets open sourced.
As great as today’s solar eclipse will be, you need special eye protection in order to properly view the it without doing moderate damage to your retina. There are a few different ways to go about this, but one way to do so — although definitely not ideal — could be with a phone, Google Cardboard, and a virtual reality camera capture app from the Play Store…
Petra is an ancient city found in southern Jordan that is known for its architecture. What’s unique about the city is that all of the buildings and water systems were carved right into the surrounding rocks. Last year, Google released a virtual tour of the city within Maps but now they have created a full 360-degree experience for Cardboard.
Seth and I got to experience a really cool VR music video earlier this year at Google I/O 2016, but at that point the only way to see it was to… be at Google I/O. The version they were showing was an unfinished ‘prototype,’ if you will. Now, anyone with a relatively-capable Android phone can see what we saw, and those with an iPhone will be getting access soon…
A Google I/O 2014 attendee wearing a Project Tango/Cardboard hybrid
A report from Recode a few days ago said that a project in Google X to create a “high-end standalone” VR headset was recently cancelled in favor of more focus on Android — and, specifically, the Mountain View company’s new Daydream platform. Now, another report (via Engadget) says that Google is indeed still working on a standalone headset, albeit one “that blurs the line between virtual reality and augmented reality.”
It goes without saying that Pokemon Go is blasting off, but what’s keeping the hype from already waning is the fact that there is so much more to come. The original trailer shown off last year touted the ability to trade and battle Pokemon with other players, and those features are almost certainly already in the works, but how else could we see the game evolve in the coming months?
If you want to make a not-so farfetch’d guess based on the Licenses page in the app, VR features in the form of Google Cardboard could be in the cards…
We’ve seen Google Cardboard and other virtual reality solutions put to use in a variety of situations thus far, and now President Obama has gotten to experience the technology for the first time. As detailed by Inverse, Obama was in Hannover, Germany recently touring a technology trade show and had the opportunity to try out a virtual reality headset made by PMD paired with a Galaxy S7 and an “external 3D camera to provide both digital immersion and reality alteration.”
The Google Store has added a virtual reality category and is now selling various Cardboard viewers. In the past, the Google Cardboard site only listed links to several companies selling compatible headset.
It turns out anything can be made into a Cardboard-like virtual reality viewer. Following Coca-Cola’s experiment to convert a 12-pack case of Cokes into a viewer is a similar attempt from McDonald’s. For a limited time, stores in Sweden will be selling Happy Meal boxes that can turn into a VR viewer for smartphones.
Coca-Cola could easily equip just about everyone in the country with a free Google Cardboard-style VR viewer if the above experiment turns into reality.
Cardboard is built on very basic optic principles and with simple materials. It has been used to provide various virtual reality experiences, games, and has even been used in hospitals to provide 3D analysis without the need for expensive equipment. Now, Cardboard has helped a blind woman see for the first time in years.
Last year, Mattel first relaunched the View-Master as a Google Cardboard viewer. They’ve just announced today a second generation viewer with upgraded hardware at the New York Toy Fair. Additionally, they’re releasing more games in addition to virtual reality experiences.
Yesterday a report came out claiming that Google is forming their own virtual reality division to compete with the likes of Oculus. Perhaps coincidentally, today Google is updating its Cardboard platform with audio features found on more expensive VR headsets. One new feature, the addition of spatial audio, will allow developers to create more engrossing virtual worlds.
As detailed in a report by Re/Code, Google is doubling down on virtual reality. Clay Bavor, the long time VP of Gmail and Drive, is being put in charge of a newly created VR division. Enterprise chief Diane Greene will be absorbing his previous responsibilities.
Google’s virtual reality offering is doing more than just providing users a new way to watch videos and game. According to a new report from the NY Daily News, surgeons recently used Google Cardboard to help repair the lungs and heart of a four-month-old child. Teegan Lexcenher was born with half a heart and one lungs and her parents were initially told that she couldn’t be operated on, until Cardboard come into the picture..
It’s a little over two years since Motorola launched Spotlight Player, an app that could be used to view a 360-degree interactive animation. Initially limited to the Moto X before being rolled out to other Android devices, you move your smartphone up, down, left and right to choose which part of the scene to view – and can also view through Google Cardboard.
Google held onto the team when it sold Motorola to Lenovo, and it has now launched Special Delivery, a holiday-themed Spotlight Story from Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace & Gromit. While you have to pay for some stories, this one is free as a holiday gift from Google …
Update: To be out of stock they appear.
Update 2: The Cardboard viewers are back in the store. I was able to get one as of 12PM PST.
As we come to the weekend before Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives, the movie tie-ins are hitting even harder. The Google Store is giving away free Star Wars-themed Cardboard viewers to anybody who wants one…
Starting tomorrow, Verizon carrier stores will be offering a free Star Wars-themed Google Cardboard viewer. Verizon’s page mentions that the offer is only available to Verizon customers, but whether that mean subscribers or just anybody shopping in the store is unclear.
This is part of a larger promotional campaign between the carrier, Google, and Disney. The viewers are meant to be used to watch the Star Wars virtual reality experience that is coming out on the same day. According to Lucasfilm, the experience will tie directly into the beginning of The Force Awakens. If you already have a Cardboard viewer, be sure to download the Star Wars Android and iOS app to watch the VR video.
Four versions of the viewers are up for grabs, with a BB-8, R2D2, Kylo Ren, and Stormtropper design on the front and Verizon branding on the side. Supplies are limited and expect Star Wars fans to be the first to try and get what will certainly end up being a collectible item. Do comment below if you are successful in getting one.
Google’s partnership with Lucasfilm and Disney to promote the new Star Wars movie has already seen everything from themed backgrounds in Gmail to an X-Wing marking your position in Google Maps, but the company is not done yet.
Searching for ‘a long time ago in a galaxy far far away’ leads to a great Easter egg, where the results are shown Star Wars intro style. It’s not just a dumb graphic, it’s the real search results, and each is clickable.
And there are Google Cardboard VR experiences (and custom viewers) coming soon …
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YouTube announced today that it’s bringing two new features to its popular video-viewing service. Perhaps the most important of the two updates is that YouTube now supports VR Video. That means people can upload full virtual reality experience videos which have an added depth versus the regular two-dimensional flat video. Objects that are near look close, those further away seem far.
Late last week, I got a chance to give HTC Vive a test run at the Big Android BBQ in Hurst, Texas. I feel almost ashamed to say this, but I hadn’t even touched virtual reality at all — besides Google Cardboard, of course — until Friday. And while this probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those out there that have already played with devices like Oculus and Vive in the past, I’m absolutely, completely, thoroughly, fully, a believer in virtual reality. Here’s how it went down…
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Legendary Pictures is debuting its new Warcraft movie today, slated for a June 2016 theatrical release at San Diego Comic-Con. The company has partnered with Google to create a new app with virtual reality experiences based on the upcoming film as well as Crimson Peak, in theaters in October, and 2013’s Pacific Rim. To make sure people give it a spin and get excited for the new films, Legendary will also be giving out 50,000 branded Google Cardboard units (pictured above) throughout the expo this week.
