After launching its Cardboard virtual reality headset at I/O 2014, today Google took to its I/O 2015 stage to double down on VR.
Google has revealed a new version of its Cardboard VR headset that’s got several improvements. Perhaps the most notable is that the new Cardboard supports phones with screens up to 6 inches in size, making it phablet-friendly. The new Cardboard also has a new input button that works on any phone, and it’s also much easier to assemble, taking just three steps to put together.
Google’s Cardboard SDK is also getting an update, bringing with it iOS support. iPhone owners can now grab the Google Cardboard app from the App Store and prepare themselves for some VR action.
Google also announced Expeditions. This new feature will give classrooms a box full of Cardboard units, phones, and a tablet for the teacher to control everything. The teacher can then control everything that the students see, letting them all go on a field trip without leaving their seats.
The final VR initiative announced today by Google is called Jump. Jump aims to make it easier for anyone to create VR content by offering free instructions on how to build a 16-camera VR rig out of almost any material. Jump also includes Assembler tools that’ll combine raw images, apply color correction and 3D alignment to stitch those images into VR content, and the player, which is just YouTube. Google says that YouTube will start supporting Jump VR content this summer. El Goog is also partnering with GoPro to sell a Jump-ready rig with 16 GoPro cameras. No price for for the rig was announced, but it likely won’t be cheap.