YouTube VR

Last updated
YouTube VR
Developer(s) YouTube
Initial releaseNovember 9, 2016
Operating system Android (Linux)
Platform Meta Quest OS (2018-present)
Google Daydream (2016-2020)
License Proprietary

YouTube VR is a software application which offers an interface for YouTube made for VR headsets.

Contents

Features

YouTube VR allows for access to all YouTube-hosted videos, but particularly supports headset access for 360° and 180°-degree video (both in 2D and stereoscopic 3D). The interface shows videos behind two floating panels, with the video description and comments showing on the left panel and related videos or playlists showing on the right panel. Since September 2023, the app interface allows for both immersive and 2D panel modes. The immersive mode retains a surrounding virtual background, while the 2D panel mode allows for use in augmented reality passthrough. The interface is accessible with hand tracking. [1]

Support for 3D and 360 video

Since 2009, viewers have had the ability to watch 3D videos. [2] In 2015, YouTube began natively supporting 360-degree video. Since April 2016, it allowed live streaming 360° video, and both normal and 360° video at up to 1440p, and since November 2016 both at up to 4K (2160p) resolution. [3] [4] [5] Citing the limited number of users who watched more than 90-degrees, it began supporting an alternative stereoscopic video format known as VR180 which it said was easier to produce, [6] which allows users to watch any video using virtual reality headsets. [7]

History

Releases

In November 2016, YouTube released YouTube VR, a dedicated version with an interface for VR devices, for Google's Daydream mobile VR platform on Android. [8] In December 2017, the app was released on Steam for HTC Vive. [9] In November 2018, YouTube VR was released on the Oculus Store for the Oculus Go headset. [10] YouTube VR was updated since for compatibility with successive Quest devices, and was ported to Pico 4. [11]

Starting with the Oculus Quest, the app was updated for compatibility with mixed-reality passthrough modes on VR headsets. In April 2024, YouTube VR was updated to support 8K SDR video on Meta Quest 3. [12]

Prior to the release of the Apple Vision Pro, YouTube announced that neither YouTube VR nor YouTube's IPadOS app would be ported to VisionOS upon launch of the headset, and suggested that Vision Pro use a web browser to access YouTube videos in-headset. [13] However, the company later clarified that native support on visionOS was "on the roadmap". [14]

Release history

VersionDateNotesRef.
1.00.00November 9, 2016 [15] [16]
1.00.01December 13, 2016
1.01.71February 2, 2017
1.01.75March 1, 2017
1.02.55April 7, 2017
1.03.61May 30, 2017
1.04.19June 19, 2017
1.04.20July 6, 2017
1.05.31July 20, 2017
1.06.26August 16, 2017
1.07.53September 19, 2017
1.08.39October 11, 2017
1.09.50November 7, 2017
1.10.60December 13, 2017
1.10.63January 16, 2018
1.11.98March 12, 2018
1.12.83May 10, 2018
1.13.91July 31, 2018
1.14.53September 10, 2018
1.15.57November 9, 2018
1.17.53February 20, 2019
1.18.49May 3, 2019 [17]
1.19.48June 28, 2019
  • support for Brand Accounts (Oculus)
  • first update for Oculus Quest
[18]
1.19.60July 10, 2019
  • Updated app launcher icon to show up in the Android apps list (Daydream)
  • Changed screen dragging to drag relative to the cursor (Daydream)
  • Enabled screen resizing while dragging (Daydream)
1.19.61July 15, 2019
1.20.50August 5, 2019
  • onboarding tooltips added
1.21.24September 12, 2019
1.21.50September 10, 2019
  • passthrough support for Lenovo Mirage Solo devices (Daydream)
1.22.54November 5, 2019
1.23.53December 19, 2019
  • haptic feedback to buttons (Oculus)
1.24.50March 4, 2020
1.26.53May 18, 2020
  • Support for up to 4K playback of 2D videos (Oculus)
  • Support for 72Hz mode (Oculus)
1.27.53July 23, 2020
  • Movies destination tab launched for signed in users
1.28.63October 6, 2020
  • Final update for Google Daydream
 [19]
1.28.68November 13, 2020
1.29.71December 10, 2020
  • hand tracking support
1.30.46February 22, 2021
1.31.41April 26, 2021
  • video seek features
  • updates to UI
1.32.31May 6, 2021
1.34.25July 26, 2021
1.35.30September 16, 2021
  • comments made visible
1.36.23October 26, 2021
1.37.37November 16, 2021
  • Search filters
  • Updated video quality selection settings
  • Updated UI on home and browse pages to dark mode
  • bug fixes
1.37.43December 6, 2021
1.38.64February 22, 2022
1.39.28April 28, 2022
  • Bug fixes and comment improvements
1.40.51June 22, 2022
1.41.38September 7, 2022
1.42.32October 19, 2022
  • new shelf for Shows
  • UI indicators when using controller seek controls
1.42.33November 11, 2022
1.43.32November 16, 2022
1.44.47January 24, 2023
1.44.48February 15, 2023
1.45.31March 20, 2023
1.45.32April 12, 2023
1.46.09April 27, 2023
1.47.42May 24, 2023
1.47.43June 26, 2023
1.47.44July 6, 2023
  • Movies tab bug fixes
1.47.48July 19, 2023
1.48.35July 28, 2023
  • new accounts page
  • environments auto mode
  • environment switcher button
1.48.36August 10, 2023
1.49.27August 18, 2023
  • Enabled YT experimental features for "Enter Panel Mode"
1.49.28August 28, 2023
1.50.26September 28, 2023
  • ability to switch between Immersive and 2D Panel Mode
 [20] [21]
1.50.27October 26, 2023
1.51.37November 14, 2023
1.51.38November 16, 2023
1.52.15December 18, 2023
1.53.27January 19, 2023
1.54.20February 28, 2024
  • Support for 8K (4320p or 4320p60) SDR video on Meta Quest 3
1.54.21March 7, 2024
1.55.23April 2, 2024
1.56.21May 25, 2024

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References

  1. ↑ "Oculus Quest's YouTube App Gets Hand Tracking". UploadVR. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  2. ↑ "YouTube in 3D". July 21, 2009. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2009– via YouTube.
  3. ↑ Bonnington, Christina (March 13, 2015). "You Can Now Watch and Upload 360-Degree Videos on YouTube". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  4. ↑ Garun, Natt (November 30, 2016). "YouTube now supports 4K live-streaming for both 360-degree and standard video". The Verge . Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ "New YouTube live features: live 360, 1440p, embedded captions, and VP9 ingestion". googleblog.com. YouTube Engineering and Developers Blog. April 19, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ "YouTube's "VR180" format cuts down on VR video's prohibitive requirements". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  7. ↑ Broida, Rick. "Watch any YouTube video in VR mode". CNET. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  8. ↑ VR, Oculus. "Press Play: 'YouTube VR' Available Now on Oculus Go | Meta Quest Blog". www.meta.com. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  9. ↑ "YouTube Finally Gets A Native HTC Vive App". UploadVR. 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  10. ↑ VR, Oculus. "Press Play: 'YouTube VR' Available Now on Oculus Go | Meta Quest Blog". www.meta.com. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  11. ↑ "Pico 4 Gets Official YouTube VR App". UploadVR. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  12. ↑ "8K Playback on Meta Quest 3 Available Now". www.oculus.com. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  13. ↑ Roth, Emma (2024-01-18). "You won't be able to use the YouTube app on the Vision Pro". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  14. ↑ Patel, Nilay (2024-02-05). "YouTube says a Vision Pro app is 'on the roadmap'". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  15. ↑ Ghoshal, Abhimanyu (2016-11-11). "YouTube debuts its official VR app on Daydream". TNW | Virtual-Reality. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  16. ↑ Perez, Sarah (2016-11-10). "Just in time for Daydream, YouTube launches its standalone VR app". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  17. ↑ "Information - OculusDB". oculusdb.rui2015.me. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  18. ↑ VR, Oculus. "Viral Video: Announcing YouTube VR for Oculus Quest | Meta Quest Blog". www.meta.com. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  19. ↑ "Download YouTube VR APKs for Android". APKMirror. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  20. ↑ Bezmalinovic, Tomislav (2024-02-09). "YouTube VR got a useful new Meta Quest feature that went largely unnoticed". MIXED Reality News. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  21. ↑ "What to Watch: February 2024 Highlights | Meta Quest Blog". www.meta.com. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
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