YouTube now supports 360 degree videos, and adds support on Android

Google has introduced 360-degree videos in YouTube and has highlighted several channels that have already published the first 360-degree videos. These videos are essentially moving Photospheres, which work on desktop Chrome and in the Android app.

The first few videos with support for 360-degree views come from the likes of Red Bull and the TomorrowWorld music festival. You can check out the following playlist which demonstrates some of these videos

You can load the videos up on Android, and pan around simply by moving the device. On the desktop, you can click and drag as the video plays to look around. The YouTube app will only load these videos in 360-degree mode if you're running Jelly Bean, Kitkat, or Lollipop. It seems to work well on Android, but the click-and-drag in Chrome has some issues.

You can record videos with as much as 4k video quality, but you'll need a special spherical camera to contribute any 360-degree videos yourself. Google recommends the Bublcam, Giroptic’s 360cam, IC Real Tech’s Allie, Kodak’s SP360 and the RICOH THETA. These will all cost you at least a few hundred bucks.

source - YouTube