When VR was in its infancy, it started off on mobile platforms.
While the focus is slowly shifting now towards stand-alone platforms, there are still some great VR apps you can find on Android to keep yourself entertained.
In this post, we will provide our top 5 picks for the best android virtual reality apps currently available in the market.
Winner
Within
This free VR platform is great for both consumers as well as creators of VR content. You can find educational content on it as well as content to just keep you entertained on a cozy Friday night. It’s a great way to experience virtual reality if you’re a first-timer.
Runner Up
Youtube VR
We don’t think we need to explain what Youtube is but this adds a VR component to the platform. Basically, it allows you to experience all of the videos on the platform in VR. The ones that are specifically created for a VR experience are especially breathtaking.
Also Great
Netflix VR
Similar to our second pick, we don’t think we need to explain Netflix to you either. This component adds VR to the platform so that you can experience shows and movies in virtual reality. Content on the platform that has been produced with VR in mind is extremely worth it.
Now that you know a little bit about our top 3 picks, let’s delve deeper into them so you can find the best VR apps for yourself.
Best VR Apps for Android - Top 5 Reviews
#1: Best Overall VR App for Android - Within Review
Within is the perfect platform to start out with if you’re somebody who’s new to VR and would like to start off with something light.
While Within does provide you with a tranquil experience, it does require some input from you as well since most of the VR content within it is interactive.
It’s the perfect platform for someone who wants to get into VR but isn’t quite acquainted with typical video games.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Within
Price: Within is actually completely free which means you can go grab it right now if you want. There’s no reason not to.
Eye strain & motion sickness: We tried a whole bunch of VR content that Within had to offer and experienced little to no eye strain or nausea.
If you experience it with some of the content, you can quickly change it to something else and that might be more your cup of tea.
User-friendliness: Within is quite easy to navigate and super simple to use, even for people who don’t have a ton of experience with virtual reality technology.
- Contains both educational as well as entertaining content
- Different types of content for different moods
- Plethora of VR content to explore
- Free
- User-friendly
- Does not offer too much of a gamer-centric experience, if that’s what you want
Best Overall VR App for Android
The best overall VR app for Android is Within thanks to its vast library of content and the things you can explore within it (pun intended).
#2: Best Video VR App for Android - Youtube VR Review
This doesn’t really need a lot of explaining.
What Youtube VR does is add a VR component to the Youtube app. You can then use this to load VR videos that are available on Youtube as well as regular Youtube videos.
With regular 2D videos, you would see them as a screen inside the VR headset.
With proper VR videos that are meant for a VR experience, you will have a proper immersive VR experience.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Youtube VR
Price: Just like regular Youtube, Youtube VR is also free to download and install. You can get it right now from the App store on any Android device.
Eye strain & motion sickness: When it comes to Youtube, the amount of content you have is pretty much immeasurable. Hence, it will highly depend on the type of content that you want to consume.
Some content might cause more motion sickness than others. Hence, we recommend experimenting until you find what works for you.
User-friendliness: If you have used regular Youtube, you’ll have no trouble using the Youtube VR app. It’s pretty much the same interface that you can use to load VR videos super easily.
- No compatibility issues with Android
- Causes little to no motion sickness
- Can watch both 2D and 3D videos with VR headsets
- Great, user-friendly interface
- Free
- Support for some VR videos is quite unpolished
Best Video VR App for Android
The best video VR app for Android is Youtube VR. It’s the number one platform you can go to in order to consume VR video content created by talented creators from around the world. It’s completely free and the interface is also super easy to use.
#3: Best Movies & TV VR App for Android - Netflix VR Review
Similar to Youtube VR, Netflix VR is pretty much a counterpart of the regular app just with a VR component added to it.
Also similar to Youtube, not all of the content available on the Netflix platform will specifically be designed for a VR experience. Hence, many movies and TV shows might only be available in 2D.
However, some TV shows are specifically designed with a VR experience in mind and that’s where this app really shines. Some of this content is extremely well-made and can really provide you with an extremely immersive experience.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Netflix VR
Price: The only thing you must pay for is your Netflix subscription. If you don’t have it already, you can get one for a range of prices depending on how many features you want. It starts from $9.99 per month and goes all the way up to $19.99 per month.
Eye strain & motion sickness: Again, this will highly depend on the type of content you choose to consume on Netflix VR since it has a lot to offer.
Again, we recommend that you take regular breaks in between and if you feel eye strain as soon as you start using VR, we recommend using a headset with a different IPD.
User-friendliness: The Netflix platform is fairly well-designed. Although we do feel that it tends to push a lot of branded content into your face rather than catering to your tastes.
If you know what you’re looking for, that’s great. However, if you’re just browsing, it may be a long time before you find something you want to actually experience in VR.
- User-friendly accessibility settings
- Easy to use
- Great compatibility with most VR headsets
- Tons of content to choose from
- Reasonable pricing
- It can be hard to find the right content sometimes
Best Movies & TV VR App for Android
The best movies & TV VR app for Android is the Netflix VR app thanks to its user-friendly interface and a vast library of content. It contains VR experiences for all sorts of different moods so you can pick and choose as you feel.
#4: Best Social VR App for Android - Fulldive VR Review
Fulldive VR is a kind of social VR platform for Google Cardboard and other similar VR headsets.
Google Cardboard is pretty much discontinued at this point but the people who are still passionate about it continue to post projects on platforms such as Fulldive VR.
With it, you gain access to a number of different types of VR experiences ranging from tranquil to super intense.
It also comes with Youtube integration, a VR gallery, a VR browser, a VR marketplace, a VR camera, and much more.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Fulldive VR
Price: The full version is available at a very reasonable price. If you don’t want to spend money, you can also just go for the free version which also has a fairly decent library to offer.
Eye strain & motion sickness: Similar to other entries on this list, this will all depend on the type of content you choose to consume on the platform itself.
User-friendliness: The UI itself is fairly user-friendly. We did notice a few bugs and glitches while navigating through it.
Not only that but the app can sometimes freeze where you may have to disconnect and reconnect your VR headset for it to work again.
- Great for both creators and consumers
- Has an active community to this day
- Compatible with a variety of VR headsets
- User-friendly UI
- Generously priced
- Sometimes freezes and crashes
Best Social VR App for Android
The best social VR app for Android is Fulldive VR thanks to its interactive community design and polished UI. It facilitates creators to share ideas and help each other experience the VR experiences that they have crafted.
#5: Best Immersive VR App for Android - Titans of Space Review
If you are interested in astronomy at all, you definitely have to check out Titans of Space.
Do you remember going to the planetarium as a child? Well, this is pretty much that same experience that you can get within your own home. Not only that but you can customize it according to your liking as well.
Titans of Space takes you on a trip to our eight planets as well as surrounding stars and some of the larger moons. You can easily customize how many details you want to be told and what music should be played in the background.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Titans of Space
Price: Titans of Space is actually completely free so, go get it right now.
Eye strain & motion sickness: This is one of those VR apps that can definitely cause motion sickness when you first try it out. However, take regular breaks and keep at it and you’ll eventually get used to it.
If you feel that you’re unable to get used to it, then it might just not be for you.
User-friendliness: The interface is quite simple and fairly easy to understand.
- Great auditory experience
- Educational
- Stunning visuals
- Free
- User-friendly
- Might cause nausea for some people
Best Immersive VR App for Android
The best immersive VR app for Android is Titans of Space thanks to its great use of music and stunning visuals with educational information. If you’re interested in astronomy at all or would just like to feel the sensation of floating through space, this is the VR app to get.
Virtual Reality Apps for Android - Buyers’ Guide
As mentioned earlier, it can get pretty confusing trying to choose an appropriate VR app or game for your daily entertainment.
It all depends on what you’re looking for and what you enjoy as well as some other important factors.
These factors are:
Price
Naturally, the price of an app or a game will factor heavily when it comes to whether it’s worth it or not.
When it comes to the price, you have to look at the price itself as well as the amount of value that you will get for that price. What this basically means is how much content will you receive in exchange for the price of the app or game.
For example, many VR apps or VR games are priced quite highly. This may seem unfair but when you look at the amount of content and replayability value they have to offer, it starts to make sense.
On the other hand, other VR apps are quite cheaply priced and this might be because they have very limited content and may become stale after a few hours.
It’s up to you to do the research and figure out what type of VR app or VR game you want to buy for yourself. If you want something that keeps you entertained for a long time, make sure to get something that either has a lot of content or something that has tons of replayability value.
Examples of apps or games that have replayability value are games that have the same story with different outcomes depending on how you play them and what choices you make.
Games such as Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, etc. are all examples of games with great replayability value.
If you’re not looking for replayability, then at least go for something that has a lot of content to offer so that you can keep yourself entertained for a long time to come. An example of this could be Netflix VR.
If you want to buy something that doesn’t have a ton of replayability and not a lot of content, make sure that it’s at least priced accordingly.
You don’t want to pay a large sum of money for a VR app that you will get tired of within a couple of days.
Ease of Use
User-friendliness is something that’s highly valued in pretty much any app but when it comes to VR apps, it’s extremely important.
Since VR is still a relatively young industry, everything is a lot less polished than your traditional apps. In this type of landscape, it can be extremely refreshing to find a virtual reality app that has an easy-to-understand UI and a fun user experience.
With all of the problems and troubleshooting associated with virtual reality, you don’t want the app itself to be clunky and annoying to use as well. This will only add to your frustration and what was supposed to be a fun time will turn into an annoying troubleshooting session.
Hence, read up on reviews for virtual reality apps to kind of get an idea of which apps are well-designed and which ones are not.
This is also something that will differ in importance from person to person. If you’re more of a tech-savvy person, while you may find it annoying, you may still be able to navigate through a clunky UI.
On the other hand, if you don’t know that much about problem-solving when it comes to VR, you might not be able to use the VR app that you just paid money for.
Hence, always check out reviews and keep an eye out for any negative reviews that state that a VR app has a bad or clunky UI.
Nausea and Motion Sickness
This is another factor that will vary from individual to individual. However, if you do your research properly, you can get an idea of which VR apps will suit you and which ones won’t.
If you’re considering buying a certain VR app for your Android phone, it’s a good idea to look up as many reviews of it as possible. It can also be beneficial to look at videos of it online to kind of get a feel for what it’s like.
That way, you can gauge whether or not the experience will cause you to have motion sickness or not.
Being nauseous or having motion sickness is, obviously, not fun at all. You don’t want to pay for a VR app only to become sick because of it. That would most certainly be a waste of money.
Hence, do your research to ensure you won’t be nauseous while experiencing the VR application that you intend to buy.
Fun Factor
Of course, you want to pay for a fun experience and even if it’s a free VR app, you still want it to be worth your time.
Nobody wants to spend time consuming VR content that is not enjoyable. Hence, ensure that you read up on reviews to make sure that whatever app you get is actually fun to experience and not just a waste of time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I Watch Regular Videos on a VR Headset?
Yes, you can definitely watch regular 2D videos and movies with a VR headset. The experience would be something like if you were watching it on a distant screen.
On the other hand, 3D movies and videos are the reason why you buy a VR headset. With these movies, it makes you feel like you’re literally in the world of the video or movie.
How Long Should I Use VR at One Time?
VR can definitely cause eye strain, nausea, and dizziness if used for extended periods of time.
We recommend that you use virtual reality technology 30 minutes at a time with 15-minute breaks in between.
What is Interpupillary Distance (IPD)?
The inter-pupillary distance (IPD) is the distance between your eyes and the screen inside your VR headset. Many VR headsets have adjustable IPD whereas, for others, it is fixed.
The ideal IPD for men is usually 63 mm and for women, it is 61 mm. Although, it can vary slightly from person to person.
What Should I Do if My VR Headset Causes Eye Strain?
If your VR headset is causing eye strain to you even though you started playing a little while ago, that may mean that your VR headset is not suited for you.
If it has an adjustable IPD, try to adjust it until it’s comfortable for you to wear. If it doesn’t have an adjustable IPD, then you may have to change VR headsets.
Make sure to try it with different VR apps and games before you exchange it since it could be an issue with the app or game itself rather than the headset.
How Can I Enhance My VR Experience?
Virtual reality is all about immersion. The VR headset provides you with visual immersion, the next step is to have auditory immersion.
To achieve that, it can be a good idea to invest in some high-quality headphones that can provide you with immersive audio.
Best VR Apps (Android) - Final Verdict
This brings us to the end of our post for the best VR apps for Android.
In the end, we definitely feel that Within is the best VR app for Android out there for a number of reasons. Not only is it great for content creation as well as content consumption but it also has a plethora of categories to choose from.
Furthermore, you get all of this free of cost.
Which VR app do you like to use most on your Android device? Let us know in the comments below.