Facebook debuts its first dedicated virtual reality app, Facebook 360 – TechCrunch

Facebook has devoted major resources and billions of dollars to virtual reality, but there has been a pretty clear line between what happens in the main Facebook app and what happens on the Oculus Rift and Gear VR.

Today, Facebook is intertwining the real and virtual worlds of Facebook a bit by launching its first dedicated app, Facebook 360. The app will serve as a hub for the 360 video and photo content posted to the site. Facebook boasts that there have ben more than one million 360 videos posted to the site alongside more than 25 million 360 photos to date. At launch, the Facebook 360 appwill be available only for the Gear VR mobile headset. Users can download the app in the Oculus Store.

At launch, Facebook 360 will feature four main feeds, delivering content into users eyeballs from closer than ever. The Explore tab will give users a birds-eye look at the 360 content that is popular across Facebook from a variety of media companies and creators; meanwhile, the Following tab will let you dial into the content being produced by your friends. Saved gives you an opportunity to experience 360 content you may have seen on the web in a more immersive in-headset experience, while Timeline lets you check out your own 360 photos and videos all in one place.

The app will allow users to post reactions to content, while also being able to save and share360 photos and videos. Facebook said in a blog post that more social features are on the way for the companys first official app.

The wall of separation between Facebook and Oculus is a pretty murky one. With this latest addition, Facebook is asserting its video strength over the Oculus Video app, which has previously been the go-to spot for Gear VR users to engage with videos from Facebook.

In January, Facebook named Xiaomis Hugo Barra as its VP of VR. The appointment was a surprising end to a leadership shakeup at Oculus that began when CEO Brendan Iribe announced suddenly that he would be stepping down as the companys chief executiveand would be leading Oculuss PC VR division instead.

While Facebook continues to work on its own suite of social VR features, its clear that the company has a grand vision in mind for bringing its nearly 2 billion users into the world of VR, and this app may be one of their earliest steps in doing so.

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Facebook debuts its first dedicated virtual reality app, Facebook 360 - TechCrunch