The Best VR Apps Of 2024

Introduction

Technology always surprises us. What we once imagined or saw in Hollywood science fiction has become a reality with virtual reality apps. VR uses specialized headsets to create a 3D environment, allowing users to interact with it.  It is becoming increasingly popular as it allows users to fully immerse in a virtual world and interact with it in real-time. Whether you want to play a game or learn some skill, VR can be immensely useful and offer an unbeatable and realistic experience.  However, to ensure that your developed VR app has all the features and functionalities, partner up with a mobile app development company to give your users an out-of-the-world experience.    

Features to look out for in VR Apps

Are you looking to impress your users with an amazing VR app? If yes, then your app should incorporate certain essential features to grab your user’s attention and build engagement. Here are some of the fundamental features you can look out to incorporate in the best apps for virtual reality:

• Intuitive Controls

Various controllers act like mediators to help you interact with the virtual environment. To get a smooth VR experience, these controls should be easy to use, feel natural, and require minimal effort to learn.

• Social Interactivity

An intuitive VR app should allow users to connect with other users in a shared virtual space. It should offer features like customizable avatars and voice chat for social interaction. 

• Replayability

A VR app's user experience must be so good that users keep coming back to use it. Random missions, leaderboards, and creative modes are a few features that give a fresh experience every time.

• Graphics Quality

The graphics must be top-notch to provide the users with the most realistic experience. Detailed settings and smooth character animations can bring virtual worlds to life and make them much more realistic.

• Comfort Tools

VR apps should have adjustable settings and features, such as snap teleportation to ensure a comfortable VR experience. This minimizes the risk of motion sickness.

• Discovery Systems

Discovery systems should be in place so that users can easily navigate through their favorite content. The app should offer personalized recommendations and community spotlights to offer fresh experiences. So, what are you waiting for choose from the best virtual reality development companies to incorporate all the essential features in your VR app today!

Top 10 Virtual Reality Apps in 2024

If you are looking to indulge yourself in an immersive and out-of-this-world experience, here is a list of the top 10 VR phone apps to look out for.

• Google Earth (VR)

Google Earth VR allows users to explore the world in a completely new dimension. With Google Earth VR, you can visit cities, landmarks, and natural wonders across the globe from the very comfort of your home.  It allows you to fly over a city, stand on top of a mountain, or zoom out and see the Earth from space. It can switch you walking on the ground or soaring up through the sky, giving you different views.  Pros 

• Google Earth VR is a beautiful way to experience our planet, offering impressive and immersive graphics.
• It is entirely free.

 Cons

• It does not allow social interactions through the app.
• It is not user-friendly. 
• Less updates are available.

Type of App:	Virtual Reality Exploration
Platform	Not a VR mobile app
Available on:	Windows (via SteamVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive)
Pricing:	Free

 

• FitXR

FitXR is a VR mobile app for fitness. It offers hundreds of on-demand workouts ranging from boxing, HIIT, dance, sculpting, and combat. This app is ideal for Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and all other Meta Quest devices.  It is a great option for people who don't have access to fitness centers in their vicinity but need inspiration and an apt environment for a workout. Pros

• Low barrier to entry
• Wide range of trainers
• Different workouts feel different
• Satisfaction with hitting targets
• The music, beats, and timing with punches are fantastic

Cons 

• It is a bit expensive
• No warm-up or cool-down exercises are included
• It offers limited workout options

Type of App:	VR Fitness
Platform:	Both iOS and Android
Available on:	Meta Quest, PlayStation VR
Pricing:	Subscription-based, approximately $9.99/month or $99.99/year

• OpenBrush

Open Brush VR is a 3D painting app to create amazing artwork in the virtual reality space. It is an open-source app for Google's Tilt Brush. With Open Brush, your paintings suddenly come to life in 3D. Just envision drawing luminous shapes or sketching colorful scenes all around you, not just on a flat surface.  Open Brush comes with numerous features that can be used by anyone who wants to create art in virtual reality for iPhones. Pros 

• Since Open Brush is an open-source app, Open Brush often gets new features and improvements that reflect what users need and want.
• Open Brush works well with mixed-reality hardware, allowing artists to blend the virtual and real worlds in their creations.
• It easily integrates with other apps.

Cons

• If you’re using Open Brush on a desktop without a VR headset, the monoscopic mode can be a bit tricky to work with.
• As the app is community-developed, updates and upgrades might not always come regularly.

Type of App:	VR 3D Painting
Platform:	Both iOS and Android
Available on:	Windows (via SteamVR), Meta Quest
Pricing:	Free

• Vermillion

Vermillion is a VR application that emulates the process of oil painting. It is available on Oculus Quest/Rift and SteamVR. The app is designed for more experienced oil painters, making some of its features difficult for beginners.  Pros 

• It mimics the real-life oil painting process, including color mixing and thick paint.
• Tools offer many customization options for brushes, palettes, and other tools.
• It offers an undo/redo feature and re-orderable layers
• It provides a tutorial viewer with a built-in Facebook community with which the user can follow tutorials and share their work
• Ir offers Mixed-reality mode, with co-located multiplayer and canvas projector 
• It offers the ability for a painting to be framed and mounted in the user's home or VR and to customize their VR studio

Cons

• It is difficult to create finesse in the app, and detailed light touches can get lost in translation
• The app's life-like features might be difficult for beginners.

Type of App:	VR Painting
Platform:	Not a VR mobile app
Available on:	Windows (via SteamVR), Meta Quest
Pricing:	Approximately $19.99 (one-time purchase)

 

• Bigscreen

Bigscreen is the best social VR app for Android that allows watching movies, playing games, and hanging out with friends in virtual reality. It supports every major VR headset in the market including Meta Quest, and its own premium PCVR headset Bigscreen Beyond.  Pros

• One can watch 3D movies in a virtual theater with friends.
• It allows you to play PC games on a big screen.
• You can also hang out in VR chat rooms, and attend live streams, and movie nights.
• The Bigscreen Beyond headset features OLED microdisplays at a resolution of 5120×2560 at 90Hz.
• The Bigscreen Beyond headset features pancake optics that result in 2–3 times the visual quality compared to other VR headsets.

Cons

• Bigscreen Beyond headset is uncomfortable, especially for active games. 
• The dark scenes may appear too dark.
• The custom face cushion prevents all light from leaking.

Type of App:	VR Social & Media Viewing
Platform	Android
Available on:	Windows, Meta Quest, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
Pricing:	Free (with in-app purchases for premium features, ranging from $4.99 to $14.99)

 

• Wooorld

Wooorld VR is a virtual reality app that lets you explore the world in a very different way. One might say it's like Google Earth, but working on your headset without a PC. Leveraging Google's data, Wooorld VR provides you with 3D views of any location on the earth right in front of you. This is one of the best virtual reality education apps to explore and know about the world. Wooorld VR projects 3D images of cities, landscapes, and landmarks onto your tabletop or floor. You can move and resize these views, creating the effect of having a holographic map in your room. You can also scale the view up so that it fills your entire room, giving you more immersive experience. Wooorld VR allows friends or colleagues to share the same space. You may scout places together, collaborate on your plan, or even provide directions. Pros

• Unlike Google Earth, which needs to be electronically tethered to a PC - Wooorld VR directly, executes on Quest 3 and Quest Pro, for an even more seamless experience.
• Wooorld VR merges virtual and real-world views into a view in which the 3D world interacts with your real environment.
• This app's multi-user feature lets you explore places and discuss them with other people. 

 Cons 

• It is less immersive than Google Earth.

Type of App:	VR Exploration & Social
Platform	Android
Available on:	Meta Quest
Pricing:	Approximately $14.99 (one-time purchase)

 

• Ocean Rift

The Ocean Rift has a great underwater, mysterious journey in store for its users. It is like a safari deep down in the sea. You can wander carefree in 12 vast environments, which are home to flora and fauna like dolphins, manatees, sharks, and many others.  Whether you want to swim close to the surface with sea turtles or take a deep dive to see more dangerous creatures, Ocean Rift offers a unique and exciting experience. The app feels more like a survival game in which you never know when some freaky thing will jump out at you. Little details like the outline of a diving mask around your screen add to the feeling that you're there. It also features the mixed-reality mode in such a way that you can put portals of the ocean and its creatures on your walls. This way, it creates the impression that you're living at the bottom of the sea making it one of the best virtual reality apps for Android. Pros 

• It provide experience to a diverse marine life
• It is both calming and heart-thumping at the same time
• It supports mixed reality for an immersive experience.

Cons

• It might get scary for people who are looking to have a smooth experience.

 

Type of App:	VR Exploration (Underwater Safari)
Platform	Android
Available on:	Windows (via SteamVR), Meta Quest
Pricing:	Approximately $9.99 (one-time purchase)

 

• Virtual Desktop 

Virtual Desktop is a VR app that allows users to work with their computer in a completely new way; inside virtual reality!  It offers everything from scrolling the internet, watching Netflix, or gaming in VR space. It makes you feel like walking into your computer. Another cool feature of Virtual Desktop is that it supports multi-monitors. You can look around to move across the various screens with head movements. Although one might find doing everything in VR interesting, it may complicate a few things.  Pros 

• A completely immersive experience while using your computer.
• It allows you to use multiple monitors at the same time. 
• It offers a pleasant experience of browsing, watching videos, or gaming in virtual reality.

Cons

• Crude tasks, like managing complex spreadsheets, might be a little trickier in VR.

 

Type of App:	VR Desktop Streaming
Platform:	Both iOS and Android
Available on:	Windows, macOS, Meta Quest
Pricing:	Approximately $19.99 (one-time purchase)

 

• Immersed

Immersed is one of the best virtual reality phone apps that helps you be more productive by letting you work with multiple virtual screens in a 3D space. You can have up to five screens, all resizable and movable, making it easier to organize your work. What’s cool is that you can even see your phone in VR, without needing a low-quality passthrough view. To use Immersed, you need to install the app on your headset and download the companion app on your computer and phone. It works with Windows, macOS, and Linux. While the app is free, you’ll need a subscription to access all the features. Pros 

• Supports up to five virtual screens for better multitasking.
• Allows you to see and use your phone in VR.
• Compatible with multiple operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Cons

• Some advanced features require a paid subscription.

 

Type of App:	VR Productivity (Multi-Screen Workspace)
Platform:	Both iOS and Android
Available on:	Windows, macOS, Linux, Meta Quest
Pricing:	Free (with a premium subscription for $14.99/month or $99.99/year)

 

• YouTube VR

YouTube VR is a special version of YouTube made for virtual reality. It offers an unbeatable experience of watching regular videos on a big, fancy virtual screen. Excitement is built with millions of fully optimized VR videos, often presented in 360 degrees, stereoscopic videos with depth, and VR180 videos that create a 3D scene in front of you. It allows you to experience several exciting moments, such as jumping with a parachute, car racing, or riding a roller coaster. The application will also allow you to plunge into the atmosphere of concerts, preview VR games, and watch 3D movie trailers. Pros

• Can watch flat videos on an enormous virtual screen.
• Supports all Meta Quest headsets.

 

Type of App:	VR Media Viewing
Platform:	Both iOS and Android
Available on:	Windows (via SteamVR), Meta Quest, PlayStation VR
Pricing:	Free

Conclusion

Each VR app developed by the best ios app development company offers a striking experience in exploring the world, keeping you fit, or simply diving into creativity. Explore these apps and plunge into new worlds now! Ready to take the next step? Download your favorite VR app now and experience the future of digital interaction.