VR virtual reality: the 6 best apps to download on your mobile phone

VR virtual reality and new frontiers of software development: immersive apps to experience parallel worlds.

Each of us has heard of Virtual Reality and apps that give the experience of parallel worlds at least once in our lifetime. Pigro’s team has selected for you some of the best apps for trying to immerse yourself in 3D virtual reality. You will only need a smartphone, an internet connection to download them, and a virtual reality headset or VR reality glasses (cheap ones can also be found on Amazon).

Virtual Reality definition and operation

Let us first explain what is Virtual Reality. The term refers to the realistic simulation of virtual worlds that do not actually exist, in which people can nonetheless carry out virtual activities that involve tactile, aural and visual perceptions that emulate the ones we experience in our real lives. 

Thanks to increasingly advanced technologies, hardware and software devices are able to simulate a three-dimensional physical space in which the user can move just like in a real environment.

Access to this digital space is possible thanks to the use of tools such as a VR viewer and other accessories (gloves, shoes, goggles, joysticks, and controllers) that allow users to explore and interact with their surroundings.

What about augmented reality?

Although AR and VR are often used as synonyms, the two terms refer to two different concepts; Augmented Reality actually differs in some fundamental aspects from immersive Virtual Reality.

What is augmented reality? The so-called AR is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology. To enjoy this amazing experience, it is not compulsory to use a Virtual Reality visor or particular devices, but screens or smartphones are sufficient, putting information into the real world, which we do not see through the naked eye.

Thanks to holograms, graphic gimmicks and other Augmented Reality software, we are able to optimize our time and activities. For example, you can see the notifications on your phone on a virtual reality 3d headset without having to stop the activity you are already carrying out; such applications automatically perform certain tasks, thus providing us with information that we would otherwise find with difficulty.

Virtual Reality Apps

After this focus on AR, let’s shift our attention to the VR applications, which are proliferating and constantly evolving.

You probably have heard of the use of such devices for recreational purposes, but VR is actually being used in many more domains than you would expect, like in the medical, architectural, industrial, and even fashion and beauty sectors.

Not only does virtual reality in the medical field enable students to use many more tools during their training, but it also makes it possible to update one’s knowledge of the medical procedures: thanks to these devices, practitioners can make diagnoses and simulate interventions; doctors use them to carry out particularly risky and complex interventions as well. 

Another sector in which we find numerous applications of VR is the construction and architectural design sector. In architecture, AR is the overlay of 3D digital building or building component models embedded with data onto real-world sites. 

Even fashion and tourism can be explored virtually thanks to apps that allow us to try on clothes and accessories without actually being in the fitting room, or with virtual reality glasses that let us visit far-flung places without having to leave our home.

6 top VR apps to try on your smartphone

Pigro’s team has selected for you the best VR apps that are built around virtual technology; you can easily download them on both Android and iOS smartphones. The domains are many: from entertainment to education and fun, there is something for everyone. Let’s find out the best ones!

1. Masterworks VR

If you want to have an immersive experience in a virtual world, this app take you all around the world, across three continents with a rich historical past and you will make a journey to some of the most beautiful and mysterious places on the globe. With Masterworks you can explore more than 3,000 years of history, visit a pre-Peruvian temple in the Andes, Native American cave dwellings in Colorado, or statues of presidents carved into Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. It works with Oculus Go, Rift, and Htc Vive viewers.

2. NASA Exoplanet Ecursions Virtual Reality App

NASA has also produced its own 3D virtual reality app, which was created two years ago to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope, from whose incredible images the app was created. Exoplanet Excursion VR allows people to take a tour of the Trappist-1 system of planets that was discovered by the incredible space telescope but it is sadly too far away to be explored and studied. For this reason, artists were asked to provide images of the planets that are to be found in the system, so that they could be integrated into the Virtual Reality experience.

3. In Cell VR

 It is both a video game and an educational app, as it immerses us in a journey through the human body in 3d virtual reality. Defined as an “action/racing VR game”, it is based on a mix of strategy and science, where the more cells and components of the organism the player discovers, the more points he/she earns and consequently progresses in the game. In Cell VR is great to test the abilities of your VR viewer. 

4. Within

Within is a platform that offers content to be experienced with viewers or devices that support Virtual Reality, such as Play Station, Android and iOS. From documentaries on nature to current news, from animation content to concerts down to horror films: this is all you can enjoy while using this app. Many organizations have indeed partnered with the platform, among which names there are some world-renowned film companies as well as broadcast media such as NBC and CNN.

5. VR Roller Coaster

 Roller coasters are one of the most popular entertainment out there with nearly 10 million downloads. For those who possess a 3D Virtual Reality viewer, it will be like experiencing the thrill of this attraction for real.

6. YouTube VR

Last but not least is the experience offered by YouTube VR, which enables its users to watch all the content on the platform in 3D directly from the application. Exploring from the inside the works created by YT creators, you can visit cities, play extreme sports, attend concerts, all for free: just download the app.

Virtual and augmented reality, AI, immersive technologies constitute the new frontiers of software development, and are now within everyone’s reach: they are opening up a lot of new possibilities for optimizing resources in a wide variety of industries. So…Keep an eye on them!

Are you looking for apps that will save your time? Read our article on Useful apps for lazy people: the 6 best tools!