YouTube is steeping into virtual reality in a big way.
The company added support for virtual reality videos to its Android app Thursday and announced that any YouTube video can now be viewed with the company's Cardboard virtual reality headset. The changes are limited to YouTube's Android app for now, but iOS is coming soon, Google says.
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YouTube previously supported 360-degree videos, which could be viewed with Cardboard, but virtual reality videos take this experience a step further. "VR video gives you a sense of depth as you look around in every direction," Google writes in a statement. "Near things look near, far things look far."
Right now, there are only a handful of virtual reality videos on YouTube (you can find a playlist of some of them here, but it's likely that we'll see a lot more soon now that anyone can upload them. Google debuted Jump, a new camera rig enables people to create virtual reality videos with GoPro cameras, earlier this year at the company's I/O developer conference.
Additionally, YouTube's Android app now allows people to watch any video through a Google Cardboard headset. While videos that aren't optimized for 360 viewing or virtual reality won't be able to provide the same type of immersive experience, it will enable people to interact with YouTube in a new way. (Google compares the experience to a "virtual movie theater.")
You can watch videos in Cardboard by selecting the Cardboard option form the dropdown menu within YouTube videos.