The latest Android N Developer Preview contains references to a ‘virtual reality mode

[Wireless News]

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/rK3Uvq0CaYEW2dz_dbtdDA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/acc8d91707b0a82dc28a5ac449253b48 (http://news.yahoo.com/latest-android-n-developer-preview-222629309.html)Google-dipped a tentative toe-in virtual reality hardware with Cardboard, its low-cost viewer-for smartphones, but never really shipped the software to match. Setting up-videos and apps-made for Cardboard as a result can be cumbersome, in most cases requiring that you launch the-experiences out of the viewer, on your phone’s touchscreen,-before strapping Cardboard to your face. But if some unfinished code in Android is any indication,-virtual reality on mobile is about to become a lot more immersive: the recently updated Android N Developer Preview contains references to-a “VR mode,” plus-new developer hooks for managing-360-degree interfaces. The references to-virtual reality in the Android Developer Preview were spotted by Ars Technica, and point to a-system for games and-apps that tap into-VR. A new service, “VR Listener,” appears to provide a way for developers to register their-VR apps-with Android.-Users will be notified when they do-so, and will have-the choice of either permitting or denying requests on a per-app basis. Apps that successfully register will “be able to run when you are using applications in virtual reality mode,” according to code in a new settings screen-within Android’s Special Access menu (Settings > Apps > Configure Apps > Special Access). Related: Incoming! Google releases the Android N Developer Preview 2 with new features If you find that last bit about-“virtual reality mode” a tad perplexing, you’re not the only one-— it appears to be the first official mention of- any- sort of-virtual reality mode for Android. And beyond that solitary reference,-the code gives no clue as to what “virtual reality mode” might comprise. Though it may not be-clear what form Android’s-“virtual reality mode” might take, an interface a la Samsung’s Gear VR homescreen or Valve’s SteamVR isn’t out of the question.-Android lacks any sort of native-launcher for VR apps, after all, and rumors persist that the company is-developing new hardware to leverage the burgeoning field of virtual reality. According to the-Wall Street Journal, The Information, and the Financial Times, Google plans to release a more advanced version of Cardboard — one with “chips and sensors” — later this year, and separately is developing a standalone headset that packs motion-sensing positional cameras and doesn’t rely on a smartphone. Related: Watch out, Oculus! Google job postings hint at a huge push into VR A virtual reality mode might also help unify the Android experience across-headsets, too. Smartphone-viewers are-cheap and ubiquitous, true, but they have a major drawback: the lack of a cohesive interface. The addition of a headset-agnostic virtual reality mode — a mode that’d look and behave the same no matter which viewer you chose to use —-would be a boon for usability.



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