VR Apps - The 3 Best Virtual Reality Apps

Do you fancy virtual reality adventures and videos? We have tested the three best VR apps for smartphones for you. You can find out what these are in our article.

VR glasses are expensive and often require investments in additional hardware for the computer. It is easier to plunge into free VR apps using your smartphone. The corresponding glasses are inexpensive and the models range from simple cardboard versions to high-quality plastic housings. So that nothing stands in the way of your mobile virtual reality start, we have tried the three best free VR apps for Android and iOS.

Google Cardboard - The Comprehensive

The best-known VR glasses for smartphones are Google Cardboard . As the name suggests, it is made of cardboard and can be assembled quickly by yourself. The associated app has the same name and offers a collection of different virtual reality experiences. In addition to 360-degree videos and photos, the Google Cardboard app also features a VR version of Google Earth, virtual travel and museum guides, digital roller coaster rides and many different games.

What we particularly like about Google Cardboard is the wide range of different applications. The app is ideal for getting an impression of virtual reality and being carried away by various scenarios. We were won over by the “Google Cardboard Camera”, with which we can take our own 360-degree photos and then view them again at any time. Favorite apps can be added to the library and thus easily found again. A big disadvantage of Google Cardboard is, however, that not all VR apps are available for free in the application and only demos are available for many videos and games. In addition, a function key is required for some applications if the user does not want to fumble the smartphone out of the glasses for every interaction. If you have VR glasses with a function key: you're in luck! If you don't enjoy luxury but don't want to buy new glasses, we recommend a Bluetooth remote control for continued virtual reality fun with Google Cardboard .

Advantages

• Lots of different videos, photos, games and apps in one

• Ideal for getting to know VR technology

• Favorites can be saved

Disadvantages

• Some applications are not free

• Difficult to operate without an external function key

YouTube VR - The video aficionado

Experience concerts and sports events up close, see your favorite film on a cinema screen - the YouTube VR app makes this and more possible. The popular streaming service has not only had standard clips in its repertoire for a long time, but also 3D and now also 360-degree videos. With the platform's VR app, you have the option of bringing every video and YouTuber up close into your living room. The integrated voice control makes it easier to use the app, so you are fully focused on your VR experience.

We like YouTube VR a lot that basically every video can be called up that we can find on the normal version of the platform. Now, however, a distinction must be made between standard and special videos. Clips that do not have a 3D or VR mode are greatly enlarged when they are played back, giving the impression that you are sitting alone in the cinema and that your favorite video is on a screen. Videos with additional functions, such as 3D or VR, are projected accordingly in 360-degree mode. For example, concerts or sports events can be relived with the “I'm there” feeling. If you turn around with your VR glasses on, the image shown does not shift, but you rediscover other facets of the video. You can log in as usual with your existing YouTube account. However, what is likely to annoy premium users of the streaming platform in particular: Videos that you download for offline viewing cannot be played in VR mode - even if you actually have one. Those who do not feel like using voice commands are also faced with the control problem, because similar to Google Carboard can only help with VR glasses with a function key or an external Bluetooth controller.

There is no official YouTube VR app for iOS users , they have to make a little detour:

• Open the standard YouTube app and start a video.

• Tap on the video and then on the three dots in the upper right corner to show the settings.

• Now tap on View in VR . If this selection is not available, there is no VR mode for the desired clip.

Advantages

• All videos are available

• Cinema mode for non-VR clips

• Voice control for easier operation

Disadvantages

• Videos can only be viewed online in VR mode

• Alternative to voice control rather cumbersome

• Can only be used indirectly by iPhone owners

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - Die Explosive

In this fast-paced and highly explosive VR game, the name says it all : Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes , so keep talking and nobody explodes. One in the group puts on the VR glasses and is now alone in a room with a bomb. All other players embody the defuse team, which gives instructions to the person with the glasses. The problem: The experts do not see the bomb and can only describe what they can find in the accompanying manual. However, the explosives are built up differently in each round, so the players cannot rely on experiences from previous sessions. The only thing that helps: keep talking and explaining until the bomb is safely unlocked. There is also a timer that puts the players under pressure every round for a thrill.