You might be saving up for an Oculus Rift, but in the meantime, you can experience all of the thrills of the latest advances in virtual reality straight from your smartphone. There’s a wide range of apps out there that provide gaming, video, or other immersive experiences. To get started, you’ll need a Virtual Reality Headset like this option from gifts.co.uk. These are inexpensive and compatible with a number of devices, or you could even make your own out of cardboard. The next step is to download the apps – here are five of the best.
Five Best Virtual Reality Smartphone apps
1. Vrse
Virtual reality allows you to become immersed in the media you’re consuming. Instead of just passively watching a movie, you can reach out and feel like you’re part of it. Try out how this feels by downloading Vrse, which offers short films, music videos, and documentaries.
2. Jaunt
Jaunt is another media library along the lines of Vrse, so if you grow tired of the selection at one source you can always switch to the other. Jaunt features engaging news reports along with the usual music entertainment. You’ll feel like you’re right in the crowd at a concert or on the front lines with the reporter.
3. InCell
This sciencey app teaches you about human cells, but it also is a fun game that lets you feel like you’re flying right through the middle of cells. It’s a race against time to outwit a virus that will let you learn something at the same time.
4. End Space VR
Lots of the first virtual reality games are first-person shooter games, as this format works well with the genre. End Space is one of the better options. It puts you in charge of a space ship, letting you shoot down other ships in a variety of different environments. The game can go on to infinite levels with different bad ships appearing all the time.
5. Hardcode
While eventually, you’ll get the full holodeck experience in VR, for now, apps like Hardcode are the next best thing. It’s another shooter game, but it supports local multiplayer so that you can alongside your friends. The game itself is free to download but you’ll need a controller gamepad to play.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to VR apps, which are getting more exciting each day.