We love VR at YouTube because it’s a powerful way to see and experience the world. Have you ever wondered what it’s like in the ice caves of Antarctica? How about underneath the Victoria Falls or courtside at the NBA Finals? Virtual Reality lets you experience these moments as if you’re actually there. When you have questions about the world, it can transport you to where the answers are.

During the last three years I’ve spent working on YouTube VR, I’ve loved seeing how our creators use this emerging technology to tell stories, share experiences, and make visible things that have previously been left unseen. With a lot of new things happening in VR today, I thought I’d take a moment to share with you a few of the things I’m most excited about: bringing our app to new platforms; adding new features and tools that make VR feel even more immersive; and exclusive new content that can bring you to more places.

Experience YouTube VR on Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus
We want everyone with a VR headset to be able to experience YouTube VR. It’s already available on Daydream View, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. Starting today, we’re expanding access to millions of people with Gear VR headsets. You’ll be able to download the app from the Oculus Store for free starting this week.

Share your VR experience with the YouTube community
We believe that one of the best ways to experience VR is with other people. So today we’re introducing a new feature in the YouTube VR app that lets you watch and discuss videos with others in a communal, virtual space.

This new feature can be accessed from the YouTube VR app by clicking on the “Watch Together” icon beneath the play controls from your Daydream View or Gear VR.

Enjoy new, exclusive VR content
YouTube VR is already home to more than 800,000 experiences in the virtual world, and this summer, we’ll bring you more exclusive experiences.

If music is your thing, you’ll be able to tag along backstage with Portugal. The Man and Hayley Kiyoko as they prepare to go on stage, and get a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of some of our other favorite musicians through the VR180 Rockstar VR series.

You’ll also be able to spend a day with global female leaders, including activist, entrepreneur, and Olympic bronze medalist in fencing, Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim-American woman to wear a hijab while competing for the U.S. in the Olympics on a new episode of our The Female Planet series.

If action videos are more your speed, SoKrispyMedia puts you in the middle of a video game, where you can race to escape a digital world before a glitch traps you there forever.

VR can take you anywhere, and YouTube VR can bring you to more places in the virtual world than anywhere else. I’ve never been more excited about the next places VR storytellers, explorers and the community will take us — letting us experience them as if we’re actually there.

Erin Teague, VR Product Lead, recently watched “After Solitary 360.”

YouTube Blog