Google Earth Heads to VR and It’s Awesome

This isn’t necessarily Android-related at the moment, but Google just released Google Earth VR on HTC Vive, and man, it’s pretty awesome. Earth feels like a service that was built years ago in preparation for the arrival of virtual reality, so with a machine like Vive powering it, you can travel across the globe and see some amazing sights, all from your own home. 

I say that this isn’t Android-related “at the moment,” because it is only on Vive. However, I can’t imagine Google wouldn’t want to bring a portion of this experience to Daydream at some point. While they didn’t make any announcements around that, they did say to stay tuned for updates on Earth for “other platforms next year.”

With Google Earth VR, you really do get to fly around the world with controllers and a VR headset on. You can jump into canyons, stand on top of the tallest buildings, see glaciers, rotate the earth, visit countries you never dreamed of visiting, and even take cinematic tours of select, hand-picked destinations.

I already installed Google Earth VR on my Vive and spent a quick 5 minutes in it and already want to get this post up, so that I can dive back in. To me, this is what VR is all about – the experiences. Sure, the games are fun, but these put-you-in-hard-to-imagine-places experiences really make VR worth investing in.

If you own Vive, you can grab Google Earth VR for free from the Steam store.

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