Facebook begins rollout of 360-degree videos in News Feed

Today, Facebook is the latest to give Internet users a new way to experience content by bringing 360-degree videos directly to the News Feed. Facebook’s “360 Videos” is a radical new way to experience media, indicating how close we are to seeing virtual reality turn into an everyday affair.

For now, on the web and mobile the users would be able to swipe around to view different angles or the phone’s gyroscope will pick up their swivelling motions and convert them into moving your perspective.

The new videos are launching on desktop and Android phones; Apple devices will come later in the year, Facebook says.

The new format is not only for big brands – Facebook forsees a future in which individuals could use similar technology to create these types of videos. If you want to check out the 360 videos for yourself, you should be able to see them on your Android device within the app or on the site.

Your News Feed is about to get a whole lot more interesting with 360-degree videos.

Facebook enlisted some prominent partners for its launch, including Star Wars, Discovery, GoPro, Vice, Saturday Night Live and basketball star LeBron James. The 360-degree videos are not supported on Safari nor Internet Explorer. While Facebook led development for 360-degree capability, the team collaborated with its Oculus division in order to create Facebook’s first consumer-facing VR product, the company’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, told The Verge. Introducing 360 video is a way to take this one step further.

Viewers can navigate an all-around video on a desktop by dragging the image around with a mouse.

As part of the announcement, a number of companies have launched 360-degree videos, including a 360 experience from Star Wars: The Force Awakens that was made exclusively for Facebook, which you can view here.