Google’s YouTube will launch a dedicated virtual reality app, the company announced May 19 during its developers conference.
YouTube has been slowly adding support for 360-degree and VR video for the past year, but the new app will be specifically optimized for Daydream, Google’s new Android-powered VR platform.
“We’re creating the YouTube VR app to provide an easier, more immersive way to find and experience virtual reality content on YouTube,” Kurt Wilms, senior product manager for YouTube VR, wrote in a blog post. “It also comes with all the YouTube features you already love, like voice search, discovery, and playlists, all personalized for you, so you can experience the world's largest collection of VR videos in a whole new way.”
YouTube announced it’s collaborating with NBA, BuzzFeed and Tastemade to create VR experiences for the app, and is also working with VR camera manufacturers to make them available to YouTube creators, with new VR video capabilities coming to YouTube production facilities in Los Angeles and New York.
“We’re just beginning to understand what a truly immersive VR experience can bring to fans of YouTube, but we’re looking forward to making that future a (virtual) reality,” Wilms wrote.
