Oculus Quest to get Slack, Dropbox as Progressive Web Apps

Facebook Reality Labs

This isn't the first time 2D apps have surfaced on the Oculus Quest virtual reality platform. But Facebook is planning to bring more third-party 2D apps to the VR platform via the Progressive Web App (PWA) framework. The aim is to give more work tools for its VR users. The plan starts with Facebook, Instagram, collaboration app Smartsheet, and email client Spike. But then Facebook will add access to Dropbox, Slack, and more in the future.

The PWA-based framework allows developers to bring their apps to VR without creating fully custom versions. But there is still a need to go through Oculus' developer channels to get their apps on the platform. As The Verge noted, this update marks a larger-scale rollout of non-VR apps inside the headset.

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National Geographic and the Oculus Quest get ready to bring you on an Antarctic adventure

Not all of us will be able to go to the Antarctic in our lifetimes, but you can do so virtually. National Geographic is all set to launch a 30-minute Antarctic adventure experience for the Oculus Quest. Coming out this spring, the experience will be coming to the National Geographic Explore VR app. You will be tasked to find a lost penguin colony in the Antarctic. It’ll start off as a kayak ride through frigid water, and then you need to climb up an ice sheet to look for the missing birds. You’ll be able to set up camp and experience what it’s like trying to survive in that kind of tough environment with the use of Oculus Touch controllers. This is the first of many other adventures coming to the app. The National Geographic Partners Immersive Experiences team has been working with Oculus and VR/AR studio Force Field on Explore VR for the past nine months.

Source: Engadget

Oculus introduces wireless Quest VR headset

Oculus has finally launched its powerful, wireless virtual reality headset meant to take on PC-quality rivals. Called Oculus Quest, it’ll be coming out in the spring of 2019 for US$399 for the 64GB model. It’ll have a display resolution of 1,600 x 1,440 per eye. And will come with over 50 game titles, including Rift VR games like Moss, Robo Recall, and The Climb. This self-contained headset allows for motion-controlled gaming, complete with six degrees of freedom. Instead of relying on wires, the Quest uses “inside-out” tracking to tell if the players are moving. Oculus dubs this tech Insight and it makes use of four ultra-wide-angle sensors and computer vision algorithms to keep track of the players and the motion controllers.

Source: Engadget