A few months back, Google introduced the 360-degree videos to YouTube, but we have not seen many multi-directional contents popping up on the channel. After the lengthy Google I/O 2015 Keynote session, it became clear that YouTube will be adding VR video support for Cardboard later this summer.
Though it was stated as “later this summer”, it has been rolled out in just a week. Whenever a 360-degree video begins playing on YouTube, the overlay screen will show the Cardboard logo to the right of the track bar before the overlay fades out.
You need not install the Cardboard app separately on your device. You simply have to update the YouTube app to the version 10.21 as it will include all the pieces that you need. Once you tap on the Cardboard logo, it will launch into the stereoscopic mode.
If you happened to have Cardboard in the past or watched a 360-degree video on YouTube, you will know what you can expect. YouTube also adds the ability to skip around as in the usual videos. You can click the Cardboard trigger to pause a video, and click again at the approximate time on the track bar from where you like to view the video. The only notable change in this update is the Cardboard support.
The APK is signed by Google and you can upgrade the existing YouTube with the recent one. The cryptographic signature guarantees that it is safe to install the file and that it was not tampered in anyway. If not, you will have to wait patiently for Google to push this update. You can download the APK via APK Mirror.
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