If you already have your Daydream View headset, you probably use it mostly to play games or to watch videos created specifically for virtual reality. But now you will get to explore VR further as the latest update to the Chrome mobile app lets you view and interact with websites through your headset. Even if the website doesn’t have any VR content yet, you will still be able to interact with it, thanks to webVR technology. This may be one of the secrets towards making virtual reality more accessible.
According to Google’s François Beaufort, the latest update to Chrome, specifically Chrome 61, now lets you browse the Internet using your Daydream View headset. Just stick your mobile in there, and fire up a website on the browser, and explore websites. If they have virtual reality content, you can view and interact with it. You can also follow links in between pages and if a site supports WebVR, you can move between 2D and immersive viewing.
WebVR technology (a VR standard from the World Wide Web Consortium) was added to Chrome earlier this year, but the latest update now lets you surf the web in VR, even if that site doesn’t really have any VR content or extras. It brings a more seamless experience that way and also allows more accessibility to the platform. But if it’s VR content that you’re looking for, there are also some already available, like Ford and its 360-degree videos or a virtual tour of San Fransisco.
To be able to use this function, you will have to update your device’s Chrome app to version 61. Google promises that this is just the beginning of WebVR on the browser.
SOURCE: Google
