One of the core values of VR is immersion. It makes you really feel like you’re in a location, as opposed to just watching a standard video. It’s memorable and impactful precisely because of the immersive technology.

2019 is seeing a great leap forward in terms of immersion. In particular, we saw at CES both Insta360 and Vuze touting easy-to-use, powerful 360-degree cameras appropriate for a wide variety of VR uses.

The new Vuze XR camera captures in 5.7K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps) or 4K at 60 fps. It also easily converts to a 180-degree 3D camera, with images and videos that can be imported into InstaVR for VR180 apps.

Insta360 was literally giving away its new Insta360 One X prosumer camera for people who recycled an existing 360 camera. Read our review of the Insta360 One X, which retails for as low as $400.

For those with higher budgets, Insta360 announced the new best-in-class Titan camera. It will capture 11k (!) monoscopic and 10K stereoscopic video.

On the headset side of things, we’ll see in the next six months the Oculus Quest, which provides even greater immersion than the Oculus Go, but with a mobility level that separates it from the tethered Oculus Rift. Read our Quest preview here.

Other immersive mobile VR headsets that should see greater distribution in the US and abroad this year include the Vive Focus and Lenovo Mirage Solo.

All in all, we’re taking great leaps forward in immersion without any more complexity — the same apps you author in InstaVR for the Oculus Go will work on the Quest, for example. It’s a great time to create incredibly immersive virtual reality!

2. Prices for VR hardware are dropping, while InstaVR is getting more robust — reducing total cost of ownership while increasing your efficiency

Budgetary concerns over building VR are dropping by the wayside. The aforementioned Insta360 One X camera is only$400, and is more powerful and feature rich than cameras that cost the same price just two years earlier.

The Oculus Go headset, at $199, is extremely immersive and yields tremendous value on a per headset basis. Companies can more affordably buy 10, 20, 100 or more of these headsets without breaking the bank.

A minimal Proof of Concept using an Insta360 One X + InstaVR (one month Pro subscription) + Oculus Go will only cost you $899 total.

The idea that VR is too pricey, or will take too long to develop, is simply no longer true. You can be up and running and building apps using InstaVR in days or even hours now, with no coding required.

3. Distribution of VR apps to your employees/partners/sales prospects/whoever is easier than ever

With InstaVR, you can distribute your Oculus Go (or Google Cardboard or Gear VR or WebVR or Rift/Vive) apps globally with ease.

You can use the Release Channel feature of the Oculus Store to get the app you authored on InstaVR onto headsets without physically handling them. This saves an amazing amount of time and energy as you jump into VR not just as a Proof of Concept, but as an integral part of your organization.

Distributing VR apps has become almost as easy as sending a web link. (or in the case of WebVR or an Android .apk for Google Cardboard, you literally can send a web link!)

We also rolled out Direct Publishing to Oculus Go during the latter part of 2018. This great feature allows you to easily update your existing apps on distributed Go headsets, saving valuable time. You no longer have to download/upload the full app to make updates. You can send the new app update directly to the headset from InstaVR, without having to even having to re-log in to the Oculus Dashboard page.

Distribution — assumed by some new-to-VR authors to be difficult — is incredibly easy. You can have field offices or field sales teams getting your new VR apps in minutes, with minimal friction and not having to physically mail headsets.

In 2019, you can create a VR program that builds and sends daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or ad hoc VR apps globally.

Conclusion

Are you still on the fence about introducing VR at your company?

You shouldn’t be!

The technology is incredibly immersive, with relatively low barrier to entry costs, and many distribution possibilities that will fit your needs.

As we’ve mentioned before, if you’re not using VR, there’s still a good chance your competition is. When Walmart, not always thought of as progressive in terms of technology, is rolling out 17,000 Oculus Go headsets to train employees… you know that VR has arrived as mainstream!

If you have any questions, we have Support and Consultant teams ready to help you. We can help guide you through the VR hardware purchasing process, through authoring your apps on our platform, and through distribution to your end viewers.

Now is as good a time as there’s ever been to jump in and start reaping the benefits of advances in virtual reality.