Google Cardboard Camera App Lets Android Users Click 'VR Photos'

Google's Cardboard is one of the cheapest VR headsets available, and is certainly one of the first steps users can take into the world of virtual reality. However, capturing of virtual reality content is not as simple. To that end, the company has released the Cardboard Camera app for Android, to capture VR photos.

The company stresses that the Cardboard camera app basically turns the smartphone camera into a (VR) camera and captures three-dimensional panoramas. Google explains that using the app is as easy as a normal camera app. Users will be required to take photo by just holding it and move it around in a circle.

"Later, when you place your phone inside a Google Cardboard viewer, you'll get to experience something new: a VR photo," writes Carlos Hernandez, Software Engineer, Cardboard Camera in a blog post. Notably, the app can even record sound at the time of clicking images to hear the moment exactly as it happened.

(Also see: Star Wars in VR, Coming to a Google Cardboard Near You)

The new app from Google is now available to download via Google Play and supports 17 languages. The app is about 33MB in size and supports Android devices running KitKat and above. At the time of writing, the app was downloaded by around 5,000 people suggesting that users are steadily downloading the brand new Cardboard camera app for VR experience.

Unfortunately, Google has not revealed any plans to release a similar app for iOS users.

To recall, Google launched its low-priced DIY Cardboard during the Google I/O conference last year. The company at the launch claimed that Cardboard was an inexpensive VR headset made by a bunch of Google engineers in their 20 percent time. Since its release, Google Cardboard has seen competition from several other tech companies including OnePlus, Microsoft, Sony, HTC, and others.