Google’s Cardboard Camera app for iOS is out

Google has released the first Cardboard Camera version for iOS. The application is compatible with iOS 8.0 or later and requires an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. With the 102 megabyte application, 360-degree photos with ambient sound can be recorded.

The photo looks like a normal panorama, but has a depth effect. It is not a normal photo file as it also includes audio. The extension is therefore .vr.jpg. By placing the phone in a Cardboard viewer, the user gets a virtual reality feeling, although it is not possible to look up or down because the photo is not recorded all the way around.

Due to the different file format, the .vr.jpg photos could not just be shared including the vr options. A forwarded photo produced a normal panorama. Since the application was released on Monday for iOS, the app has also been updated for Android and allows photo sharing via a vr.google.com link that is then opened in a Google Cardboard app.

According to Google’s blog, about 5 million photos have been taken since the Cardboard Camera app came out. The app can be downloaded from the App Store or the Play Store. Google released the first Android version in December 2015.