The virtual reality world is filled with exciting adventures and immersive environments that will take you to a completely different dimension of reality. You will get a wide range of applications related to gaming, sports, science, health, and a lot more.
Let’s find out how these VR applications actually work.
How Do VR Apps Work?
VR devices have their very own application store, similar to smartphone application stores, where you can download games and apps.
VR Apps
Types
There are two main types of apps: games and non-games. In the non-game category, there are apps for healthcare, education (including schools), training, entertainment, and others.
There are two main categories of VR applications: smartphone applications and PC applications. Other than these two categories, there are also different types of VR applications depending on their features.
Immersive First-Person
Immersive virtual realities involve putting people into 3D images themselves as avatars or other 3D representations, assigning them human characteristics, and then immersing them in these environments.
Properties
- These features include the capability to walk virtually, so the user experiences the feeling of actually walking in a virtual environment through their avatar.
- A virtual representation of human hand movements in a VR environment
- It may include both visual and auditory perceptions as well as tactile ones.
Through-The-Window Apps
Through-the-window virtual reality (VR) refers to the use of headsets that allow people to see their surroundings from inside a virtual environment.
You control the VR world by moving a cursor or clicking buttons.
Immersive first-person games offer a first-personal experience with the virtual world.
Mirror World Apps
Second-Person User Interfaces (SPUI) allow users to interact with their avatars from an external location. Users’ avatars appear in the virtual environment, but they’re not actually part of the game. Instead, they represent the user who is playing the game.
The system uses a video camera as its input device. For example, using tablets such as touchscreen devices and pencil erasers, students can interact with their own personal “magic wand” inside a classroom.
Characteristics/Features
Some characteristics/features to consider when looking at top VR apps include:
Immersion
So far, the most important factor for the best VR applications for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and others has been the quality of the headset itself.
- To get the most out of an app, its contents should resemble the things you want to do with the app.
- Second, it should be able to create life-sized objects.
Through-the-window VR
Through-the-glass virtual reality applications are better suited for medical applications where the patient may not be able to wear a VR helmet.
Immersive Virtual Reality
Immersive virtual reality apps are ideal for gaming, entertaining, training, and other uses.
Mirror World Virtual Reality
Social networking sites and virtual assistance programs are ideal platforms for mirror worlds.
Cross-platform: Usable on Multiple Platforms
It’s huge because the VR app will allow people to experience VR anywhere they go.
It includes desktop and mobile apps as well as app development for Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, and Windows platforms and across various VR headsets.
WebVR
It has the ability for people to view or use it on their browsers, which is achieved by web applications supporting WebVR.
It means that the user doesn’t need to install anything special on their computer or smartphone to view the VR experience. They can watch it using any type of headset (2D or 3D).
2D
Furthermore, supporting a 2-dimensional (2-D) view as an alternative for viewing VR content is important for those who cannot afford VR headsets or other specialized devices for viewing VR content.
Other Characteristics
- Ease of use
- Better experience in navigable and browsing
- Best refresh and rendering rates
- Good high-definition (HD) graphics for content
- Proper and smooth transition when being controlled with controllers.
Top Virtual Reality Apps
Here is a list of the top VR Apps
- Jaunt VR
- Second Life
- Sinespace
- AltspaceVR
- Titans of Space
- Google Earth VR
- YouTube VR
- Full-dive VR
- Littlstar
- Cinematic VR
Jaunt VR
Jaunt VR is an immersive storytelling studio that creates virtual reality experiences.
Features
There are lots of different types of experiences available for people who use VR headsets. These range from live VR concerts, VR video games, 360-degree shoots with celebrities, and military events in places like Korea, to VR movies.
Compatibility
It is one of our top iPhone apps though it also works on Android devices.
- Android, HTC Vive
- Oculus headsets
- Microsoft Mixed Reality headsets like the HoloLens
- PlayStation VR
- Samsung Gear VR
Second Life
Second Life is the biggest known free virtual world by the company behind it, and it has millions upon millions of cubic kilometers of space already created for anyone to use.
It also has a “digital economy” meaning users can create, sell and purchase virtual lands and virtual items like avatars and clothes with virtual and real money at one point, Second Life had close to 1 million accounts.
Features
Virtual Worlds
You can access these virtual worlds using different PC and mobile clients including the Second Life Viewer (SLV), Firestorm, Singularity, and Lumiya mobile client.
Viewing
These viewers also allow for the viewing of OpenSimulator (OS) or Open Simulated Environment (OSE) contents.
Visitors can go to virtual lands and explore them using their own links, browse through the contents, and even teleport, fly, and hop to many expansive virtual spaces in 3D
You don’t need a VR headset to create an avatar in Second Life. However, if you want to use a VR headset, you’ll need to use a supported program such as Firestorm.
Sinespace
Sinespace allows PC users to create their own virtual worlds, purchase virtual land, and experience them using HTC Vive, Valve index, and Oculus Rift.
Users can add full-body avatars to feel more like digital persons when exploring the virtual spaces they own.
Features
It even has an online economy powered by NFTs (non-fungible crypto-tokens) for selling and trading them.
It currently works on PCs via a PC desktop application, and the content can either be seen in 2D on the desktop app or with the said VR headset.
However, the company says that it will create mobile apps for smartphones so that users can enjoy VR or 2D video content on their devices, whether they’re using VR headsets or not.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for VR apps for daily use, the best options are those that allow you to game on the go using your smartphone.
For purposes of other virtual reality (VR) apps in education, healthcare, corporate virtual working, and so forth, the best choices are immersive and versatile apps such as Sinespace and Second Life.
If you have any questions feel free to comment below.