Facebook launches its first VR app called “Facebook Spaces”

At the ongoing F8 (2017) conference, Facebook announced its ambitious product called Facebook Spaces, which essentially brings 3D virtual spaces into the real world.

California, April19:It has been more than three years since Facebook acquired Oculus with an aim of combining the virtual reality (VR) and social networking.

While users can see each other in form of avatars, which are customisable, they can import videos from their own feed and even try mixed-reality experiences by video-calling people using messenger app’s video chat feature.

After creating a virtual persona, users can use Messenger to connect with friends, interact in 360-degree spaces, and utilize the app’s selfie stick to further manipulate photos in the VR environment. Facebook Spaces allows you make a video call through Messenger that allows other users to join the VR space. Indeed, it’s clear from Zuckerberg’s focus in the keynote on just about everything but the core Facebook app itself that he views AR and VR as the future of Facebook itself.

This is the worst-case scenario for what interacting on Facebook will be like in the not-too-distant future, extrapolating from scenarios laid out by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook execs at this year’s F8 developer conference. Within that space, you exist as an avatar that can feign surprise, laugh, frown, and express confusion. All things you could do in real life, just without the tedium of having to leave your house. Facebook Spaces wants you to feel completely comfortable and homely in the VR world as well. Together you may watch videos, engage in different activities, and take photos etc. – all in Virtual Reality. Draw 3D objects with virtual markers, video call your friends outside of VR, and share selfies of your VR memories on Facebook.

Facebook has released its virtual reality-based communal hang-out app Facebook Spaces to the Oculus Rift Store.

For now, Booth and his team will be taking feedback from Spaces beta users, as well as from those who participate on the Messenger side of the equation, and integrating it as Facebook Social VR slowly gets more and more sophisticated.

Although Facebook (fb) now sells its Oculus Rift VR headset, the company had yet to unveil its own VR app, instead relying on third-party developers to build VR apps for its headset.

We know he can sell us on updates to Facebook and Instagram apps that we know and love, but it’s time for him to show us he can do what tech icons like Steve Jobs could: Convince the general public to take a chance on something new and sort of weird. Facebook said it’s only just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible with Facebook Spaces. They’ll see your virtual avatar and the backdrop behind it.