Latest Android N Preview Reveals Support for Virtual Reality

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The second preview for Android N dropped this week and it brings with it a myriad of features including support for Vulkan, a few UI tweaks, a whole lot of new emojis, plus new additions to the Cardboard VR platform. Along with this comes the first hints of VR functionality buried right into the firmware.

With Virtual Reality rapidly becoming the ‘next big thing’, Google seems to have come up with a novel concept by directly integrating the VR functionality into the core of its Android operating system. A new VR helper services option was spotted by Ars Technica in the Apps menu of the Android N developer preview. According to the report, it is expected to have a similar functionality to the ‘Notification Access’ screen (in Android Wear), that’ll display a list of apps plugged to this API. Also, the apps can register themselves under VR Listener or VR Helper category.

Other than this, the Virtual helper services screen doesn’t offer any other particular clue. Although no one is sure how it all works and what it does exactly, this VR mode in Android N looks promising and might truly make a difference in how we interact with technology.

Currently, Google’s involvement in virtual reality is limited to the Google Cardboard app. But we’ve also heard rumours time and again that the company has extended plans for virtual reality and has been secretly working on both a smartphone-powered Gear VR-like headset, as well as a standalone VR headset.

We can only wait and hope that all these rumours will be put to rest at the Google I/O Developer Conference due next month.