Huawei is the next company attempting to break into the virtual reality space. The company has now officially unveiled its Honor VR Camera, a 360-degree shooter that clips on smartphones, created in concert with Insta360.
Huawei Honor VR Camera
In addition to 3K photography, the Honor VR camera supports a livestreaming functionality. Users may also save and share 360-degree videos via an app developed by Insta360.
"We're thrilled to partner with Huawei to grow the global community of 360-degree and VR creators," said JK Liu, Insta360's founder and CEO. "Like us, Huawei is committed to reinventing photography, and they believe in our products as the best way to introduce users to the future of the camera."
Details about the new 360-degree camera are thin at present, although Huawei seems to be pushing to release it internationally. It's also unclear what the camera's resolution is, although for a device geared for smartphone usage, one shouldn't expect anything grand.
Pricing And Availability
Additionally, there are questions about the camera's compatibility: will it work with non-Huawei smartphones, or will Huawei tighten them exclusively with its proprietary handsets? The latter possibility, although potentially disappointing, makes sense.
Also, it still isn't known just how much the camera will cost, although as per Digital Trends's forecast, it might be priced less than $350, and going above that price point would be surprising, since the Samsung Gear 360 costs similarly.
By contrast, however, Insta360 is presently selling a consumer camera add-on called the Insta360 Nano, which is available for the iPhone 6 and 7 for $195, able to take 360-degree videos at up to 3,040 x 1,520 resolution at 30 fps.
The company also recently unveiled another product, the Insta360 Pro, which is more geared for professional photographers. It takes 8K 360-degree videos with its six lenses and supports livestreaming on top of 3D video. The Insta360 Pro will be released later in 2017, but at a ferociously steep price of $2,999.
At any rate, Huawei is expected to offer more word about the Honor VR Camera at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The Rise Of 360-Degree Video And Livestreaming
Huawei is the latest company to venture into 360-degree video and virtual reality. Samsung has already carved space in the 360-degree video field with its own 360-degree camera, although it isn't as portable as the Honor VR camera. It's possible that the commercialization of these devices will help usher the plight of 360-degree content to the mainstream, which at present is already beginning to take off.
The fact that Huawei's Honor VR Camera supports livestreaming is also pretty impressive and logical too, considering the popularity of livestreaming platforms of late, such as Facebook Live, which are now being used by common folk, apart from publishers, outlets, and such. Facebook has also been pushing 360-degree content, which the Honor VR camera could perfectly fit into.
Thoughts about Huawei's Honor VR Camera? Anything in mind you would use it for? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
