There is a wide variety of virtual reality applications waiting to be explored by the masses. Very few people know some of the world’s most renowned newspapers have a VR app these days. We checked out The Guardian VR, which provides users with “virtual reality” journalism. Contrary to what we expected, the app works surprisingly well and provides a great experience.
The Guardian VR is a Pretty fun Experience
Reading a newspaper in virtual reality is a very niche market, for obvious reasons. However, given the fact most people don’t even use a paper version of the newspaper anymore, it is evident there will be a growing demand for digital services. Donning a VR headset to read the daily headlines sounds a lot less strange than it looks, though. Otherwise, entities like The Guardian would have never created their VR app in the first place.
When opening the app for the very first time, it becomes evident this particular app has a lot of merit. Everything is presented in a very clean environment, which not only providers text content, but also 360-degree videos at the same time. This blend of visual and text-based content should not be overlooked any means, as it makes for a great experience overall. It is not something one can compare with reading a regular newspaper, though, that much is pretty evident.
Moreover, The Guardian VR doesn’t offer the same content as the paper newspaper either. More specifically, there is a much stronger focus on video content than one would expect. Then again, VR is all about the visual arts rather than just reading text through two different lenses. It is more of a companion app for newspaper readers more than a full replacement of the paper version. Still, the app has a lot of merit in this regard.
It will be interesting to see if more newspapers follow this lead by example. There is a bright future ahead for newspaper-related VR apps, that much is evident. The Guardian VR shows there are some interesting opportunities to explore in this regard, without necessarily attempting to replace the paper version whatsoever. The fact this app is also free of charge makes it a no-brainer to give it a try.
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