Google bringing ads to VR

It seems like an inevitable thing that Google is looking to include advertising into the virtual reality space. The company’s internal incubator Area 120 has a new experiment they call Advr. It’s a way to include ads into the VR space that they say aren’t disruptive for the viewers or hard to implement for the developers. One example they have is the ad cube, which users can opt to interact with. By tapping on the cube, a 2D video player pops up with the ad playing. For now, you can see there’s a “Close Ad” button but we can’t say if that’ll remain the same if or when Google decides to bring sto users.

Area 120 is supposedly working with some developers already but they won’t disclose who. They want the format to work on different VR platforms like Google Cardboard, Daydream, and Samsung Gear VR. Any developers who want to try it out can apply for an early access to the program here. Now, we just hope what they do develop something that isn’t obtrusive and useful.

Source: Tech Crunch + Android Authority

Watching YouTube videos gets more social with Google’s Uptime app

Let’s get it out of the way first. This might be a Google product but it’s an iPhone product only at the moment. The newly launched Uptime social video app is the product of Google’s Area 120 startup incubator; which was set up last year to let Googlers be startup pioneers during their “20% time.” What Uptime does is it lets you watch YouTube videos with your friends at the same time, even if you aren’t in the same room. All you need to do is sign in with your Google account and connect to friends. From there, your avatars show how far you are into watching a video. You also get Facebook Live-like reaction emojis and written comments similar to how you see it in platforms like Soundcloud.

While there is no word yet if this’ll be making its way to Android or on the browser, it shows us what Google can bring into YouTube or the livestreaming sphere in the future. If you’re on iOS and love watching videos with friends, this might be worth trying out.

Source: Android Central