SAN FRANCISCO — Is virtual reality the next big thing?
Technology giants think so.
Facebook said late Tuesday it’s developing virtual reality apps.
The Facebook apps are designed to work with the headset technology the giant social network acquired from Oculus VR, the company’s chief product officer Chris Cox said.
Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion nearly a year ago.
He made the remarks at Re/Code’s Code/Media Conference.
Giving the example of a headset wearer flying inside a Blue Angel fighter jet or stepping inside a yurt in Mongolia, Cox said: You realize, when you’re in it, that you’re looking at the future, and it’s going to be awesome. When you’re in Facebook, you’re just sending around these bits of experience, a photo, a video, a thought.” With virtual reality, you could send a fuller picture,” Cox said.
Cox predicted people will gravitate to the new medium.
You’ll do it, Beyoncé will do it,” Cox said.
Competition is growing among technology giants for the next generation platform: virtual reality.
Apple has been granted a patent for its own virtual reality technology, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Google and Mattel have teamed up to target kids with a virtual reality View Master that works with Android mobile phones. That gadget starts at $30.
Samsung also has its own virtual reality gear: the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition which is run on Oculus technology. The company began taking orders for the $200 device in December.
The NBA has embraced the technology, the first sport to do so.
Shares of Facebook are up about 1%.
