The Gear VR is taking early (and small) steps toward becoming an actual app platform rather than just a showcase for games and immersive video. Today, Yahoo announced its own Flickr VR app for Samsung's virtual reality headset, which will let wearers access "tens of thousands" of 360-degree photos that've been uploaded by users through the years. Open the app and you'll be greeted with a carousel of the top look-in-every-direction shots from all across Flickr, and tapping into any of them will instantly throw you into that scene. Here's an example, though moving the photo around on your computer screen is nothing like the VR version.
And that's pretty much it, but Flickr says it's the ideal source for 360-degree photos that you'll get truly lost in. "Flickr is the best platform for 360-degree photos because we respect the image quality of uploaded photos, and we want to be one of the best ways to access engaging virtual reality experiences," said Bertrand Fan in a blog post. "People who view Flickr 360-degree photos for the first time do not want to take the Samsung Gear VR off." The Flickr VR app is available in the Oculus Store for Samsung smartphones that are compatible with the Gear VR.