VR is starting to become a big deal. The proliferation of headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and others have solidified the platform’s popularity. However, none of them can even come close to the affordability of Google Cardboard. Anyone who has managed to pick one up over the last couple of years are no doubt looking for some awesome apps to put on there and use. Here are the best VR apps for Google Cardboard. These should tide us all over until Google Daydream comes out during autumn 2016.
Check out our sister site, VRSource’s, picks for the best Google Cardboard apps!
Or check out VRSource’s picks for the best Google Cardboard games!
AAA VR Cinema
[Price: Free]
AAA VR Cinema is a VR video player that allows you to play locally stored content on your device. It’s quite easy to use. You’ll put the video on your device then use this app to play it while wearing Google Cardboard. It features 180-degree and 360-degree video support, head tracking, support for NAS, and features included to remove drift issues that can come with watching longer videos. It’s completely free if you want to try it out.
Download now on Google Play!
Cardboard
[Price: Free]
Google’s Cardboard app is one of the must-have VR apps for Google Cardboard owners. It comes with a few VR experiences, including Google Earth, a tour through Versailles, a built-in video player, photo sphere, and more. More importantly, it has a directory of VR apps and games that makes finding new stuff a lot easier. Of course, it’s also used to actually set your Google Cardboard. You’ll likely download it on your own, but we’re going to recommend that you keep it installed.
Download now on Google Play!
Cardboard Camera
[Price: Free]
Cardboard Camera is another one of those must-have VR apps that can be a lot of fun. This app’s focus is to take VR pictures that you can then, obviously, view in VR. It’s ridiculously easy to use and Google doesn’t require you to sign up for any accounts or anything ridiculous to get started. You just download, open, and go. It takes a bit to get used to and your first few VR photos aren’t going to be amazing, but it’s a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.
Download now on Google Play!
Expeditions
[Price: Free]
Expeditions is an education oriented app that is meant to be used in a classroom environment. However, it can be used just about anywhere that you want. The app has over 200 expeditions that you can immerse yourself in. You’ll be able to check out various destinations, landmarks, landforms, waterscapes, and tons of other places. There is a 360-degree mode that works without Cardboard if you need it to and the app is fairly easy to use. It’s also completely free, which is nice.
Download now on Google Play!
Fulldive VR
[Price: Free]
Fulldive VR calls itself a VR navigation platform. What that means exactly is that the app will help you find and view tons of VR content from around the web. It has support for VR video from YouTube, a VR video player built in, and even a VR browser to view online content. There is also a camera, photo gallery, and a market place to take VR images and surf for more VR apps and games. It’s definitely one of those VR apps that are worth checking out. It is free to download.
Download now on Google Play!
See also: The best Android apps, ever!102
Google Arts and Culture
[Price: Free]
Google Arts and Culture is a fun little app that only received its Google Cardboard support earlier this year. It is a tour-style app that lets you view all kinds of stuff. There are tours available for hundreds of museums, heritage sites, and landmarks all around the world. You can also view individual pieces of artwork and view items based on things like color and time period. Everything has a little bit of information about it so you can learn more about the world around you. It’s completely free and one of those VR apps that all Google Cardboard owners should have.
Download now on Google Play!
Google Street View
[Price: Free]
Google Street View is an old friend of Google Maps and it was updated not long ago to support VR content. It works essentially as it always has, which has provided people with 360-degree views of various roads, addresses, landmarks, and other places. With the VR update, you can also use your Google Cardboard to look at all of that stuff. On top of that, you can view content posted by other people and provide your own content if you need to. It’s a fun way to experience the world and probably the best way to experience Google Street View.
Download now on Google Play!
Titans of Space
[Price: Free / $2.99]
Titans of Space is one of the most popular VR apps for Google Cardboard. It features a VR tour through our solar system so you can see everything and how it works. On top of that, you can compare the sizes of planets, roam around freely, learn more about various planetary bodies (including voice narration), and more. There is even a nice little soundtrack to enjoy while you traverse the cosmos. The app and most of its features are completely free. If you want the voice narration, you can buy it as a DLC for $2.99.
Download now on Google Play!
VaR’s VR Video Player
[Price: Free]
VaR’s VR Video Player is, as you’d expect, a video player for VR content. With over one million installs, it’s also among the most popular VR apps out there. It features the ability to play a variety of VR video content, including 180-degree and 360-degree videos. You can play videos off of a website if you have the streaming address or over a LAN connection if you need it. On top of that, there are VR controls so you can pick and choose which videos you want to watch without leaving your Cardboard. It’s worth a shot and it’s completely free.
Download now on Google Play!
YouTube
[Price: Free]
Of course, the venerable YouTube is one of the great VR apps to have in your arsenal. It is one of the largest sources of VR content on the Internet. There are tons of videos and channels you can follow that provide everything from entertainment to educational video for you to watch. It’s been one of the few platforms where VR has really taken off and there really is a lot of stuff there if you want to check it out. It is free or you can grab the YouTube Red subscription for $9.99/month and remove the advertising if you want.
Download now on Google Play!
Related best app lists:
Learn how to use Google Cardboard with this excellent tutorial!
Or learn how to make a Google Cardboard headset yourself!
If we missed any of the best VR apps for Google Cardboard, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.