Google has a history of pulling products before they ever hit the shelves, and their latest 180° camera meant for VR films might be the next thing to be killed. The VR180 camera was first announced all the way back in 2017. This camera was meant to be the next step in filming videos in a stereo fashion that allowed users to see the whole picture, and not have to string a bunch of films together. Although this idea is loved by many, it doesn’t seem like it will be translating to sales anytime soon.
Google previously said that they were partnering with YI Technology and Lenovo to produce this camera. Both companies have a history in 180° and 360° technology. With that being said, Lenovo has already stopped their shipment of their own 180° camera and YI Technology has “all but given up” on selling their own version of the camera.
The Lenovo Camera was first shown all the way back at CES 2018, and it was even selling for a while for a small $299. The YI Tech camera was also shown at CES 2018 but it was never on sale. It was intended to go on sale later in the year, during the fall months, but it never did. It never even made it to pre-orders before being scrapped as a whole.
Google was also scheduled to help LG make a camera with 180° capabilities, but since the announcement we have yet to hear anything of it. This is likely the last time it will be mentioned, as it doesn’t seem like it is going to be in the works for anytime soon. The last time there was a larger gathering that was streamed in 180° VR was the Coachella music events back in 2018. It is likely the last 180° event as 360° is already taking over.
Google was reached by variety.com in regards to the VR180° platform, and they said they have no comments about it at the time. This is the furthest thing to a promising statement. If they were planning on even continuing working on the project, it wouldn’t have been too big of a stretch to say that publicly. Clearly they aren’t in a position to do that right now, as it seems their entire VR180° project is in limbo.
Even when 180° cameras were the hot topic and 360° videos and cameras weren’t ready for production yet, there wasn’t too large of a market for them. If you didn’t own a VR headset (which was even less popular two years ago), then you didn’t really have a purpose of turning your own videos into something you would watch regularly. If you did have a headset to watch in, or was even insanely passionate about these videos, there wasn’t a large enough market to actually pull you into putting considerable time into it. It wasn’t a community large enough make money from views.
Right now, 3D videos that double as 360° videos are the main video point in virtual reality media consumption. These are short films that are making many gamers take a moment out of their day to watch. They are impressing thousands are making a commute form quickly behind these video designers. None of these developers and designers used a VR180° camera in the process of making the short films, so there is a very clear reason on why there is no market for this product anymore. For more VR and VR filming news, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
