Remember the gimmick last year that Google introduced at its I/O conference? The piece of foldable cardboard that turned your Android phone into VR goggles? It's called Cardboard, and it's back with version 2.0.
The new Cardboard is bigger, able to house any smartphone up to six inches in size. Far more surprising, however, is that Google has opened up Cardboard development to the iPhone, so that iOS users can get in on the action too. Google's Clay Bavor said there are already more than one million Cardboard users, so it's easy to imagine that number swelling dramatically with these updates.
The new Cardboard is constructed a little smarter, too, requiring just three steps to assemble. Also, the magnet button is being replaced with a cardboard button that works with any phone. Clearly, Google has given this initiative a great deal of thought.
But the surprises don't stop there. The developers at I/O 2015 showed great excitement when Bavor unveiled "Expeditions," a project that brings Cardboard VR to the classroom. Virtual Reality in a learning environment means that teachers can take their students on field trips anywhere — from right inside the classroom. Google has partnered with a number of educational organizations to enhance this project, and boasted that "hundreds" of classes have already gone on Expeditions.
Perhaps most impressive, Teachers can synchronize their VR trips, turning an Expedition into a kind of guided tour. Teachers interested in signing up for Expeditions can do so online right now.
The Cardboard presentation was rounded out with the much-anticipated announcement of "Jump," a program for hardware made to capture and share VR experiences, including a new camera by GoPro. We've got all the details about Jump right here.
The new Cardboard viewer fits 6" phones, assembles in 3 steps & supports iOS as well as Android #io15 pic.twitter.com/h06Ro35E0C
— Google (@google) May 28, 2015
