As you might have heard and seen by now, Facebook supports the uploading and sharing of 360-degree videos. However it looks like in addition to 360-degree videos, Facebook has announced that they will soon support 360-degree photos as well, which for the most part is similar to 360-degree videos, just that they are stills instead of videos.
Users can interact with 360-degree photos the same way that they would with the videos. They can pan side to side, up and down by dragging their finger across the photo (or cursor if you are viewing it on your browser). Alternatively you can use your phone and tilt it around to adjust the angle.
Facebook’s 360-degree photos are supported by cameras that can shoot such photos, such as the Ricoh Theta S. In addition they will also be supported on Samsung’s Gear VR headset. Virtual reality is the next big thing and we are looking at devices like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive starting to gain more momentum.
Even platforms such as YouTube are supporting 360-degree videos, and they are also support live 360-degree streams. For example when Samsung launched the Galaxy S7, they hosted the event in VR, which we can only imagine will become more commonplace moving forward.
Filed in . Read more about Facebook and Virtual Reality (VR).