We were disappointed to find out Oculus Go at launch doesn’t have any way for people outside VR to see what the person wearing it sees.
Chromecast integration provides this feature on Google Daydream headsets, for example. It works incredibly well on a Daydream View to let someone in VR wirelessly share what they see to a TV nearby. Simply mirroring the view changes VR from a solitary experience into one you can share with friends and family. Knowing you’re not alone can also do wonders to help the person in VR feel comfortable and more confident.
Yesterday I got my hands on Oculus Go and as I used an iPhone tethered to the headset (so I could set it up before getting home from Best Buy) it became obvious how useful it would be if Oculus companion apps on Android and iPhone could mirror the VR display. I said as such on Twitter and, in a reply, Oculus CTO John Carmack confirmed they’re working on it “but it will take a little while to get it integrated into the companion app.”
I made a demo of that, but it will take a little while to get it integrated into the companion app.
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) May 2, 2018
Mirroring the view to other devices nearby would be a major addition all on its own, but VR games like Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes and The Playroom VR also use multiple screens in creative and fun ways. Imagine a game, for instance, where a player could use the touchscreen phone to lay traps for a player sitting nearby in Oculus Go. The player outside VR would watch the Go user carefully try to out-maneuver their traps. As an Oculus Go owner now, I hope something like this might one day be a part of the system, but I’ll be happy if we only get the mirroring feature.
