F8 is Facebook’s annual developer conference during which thousands of attendees flood the San Jose convention center to hear about and experience the latest in innovations from Big Blue. Yesterday was the first day of the two day program and Facebook came out swinging with big bets on augmented reality and the potential popularity of social VR. If you weren’t lucky enough to make it out to the show this year don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered.
There’s so much happening at F8 this year and if the Reader’s Digest version above isn’t enough to slake your tech thirst, then come join us for a more in depth walkthrough of all the booths, demos and domes across the show floor.
Part One: AR Filters and Facebook Spaces
In this first captian’s log from the field we focus on the insane new augmented reality camera capabilities Facebook is releasing. We also swing by the Facebook Spaces booth for a visit.
On the AR front, the similarities between Facebook and Snap, Inc. are becoming too significant too ignore. An arms race is brewing between the two and the winner will rule a smartphone-level industry. This rivalry was demonstrated yesterday when Snap just happened to release an augmented reality update of its own just hours after Facebook’s big announcement.
As far as VR goes, still no word on any new hardware from the Oculus team. However, Facebook’s social VR teams have found a real winner in Spaces. It’s free on Oculus Home right now and if you have a Rift with Touch it’s a must-try.
Part Two: Domes and Cameras
Who says 360 domes are dead? Well, actually, the one here is pretty underwhelming. But the cameras are amazing from large to small. Whether you’re snapping them into a smartphone or shelling out thousands for the best of the best, Facebook will be the ones benefitting from an army of immersive content generators armed with this shiny new hardware.
–
Round two kicks off today at 10 AM PST with the second keynote of the conference. UploadVR will be bringing you all the biggest news from F8 2017 throughout the day so make sure to follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook and keep that refresh button moving on our homepage throughout the day.
