If back in 2015, less than 40% of developers and users estimated virtual reality technologies as promising, now almost no doubters are left. And the industry is growing rapidly: in 2016, its total income was just over $200 million, but in 2022 it exceeded $3 billion. Such a qualitative leap became possible thanks to the gradual reduction in the cost of equipment required for immersion in VR – special helmets and glasses.

Developers also do not sit still, creating new virtual reality applications that allow you to learn, have fun, travel, and learn new things with immersion in other worlds and locations previously impossible. So how to build a virtual reality app?

Contrary to the misconception that virtual reality can only be used for games and entertainment, it is used in areas such as design, engineering, business, art, and even scientific development and research.

Virtual reality technologies are a new opportunity for presentations, new products and services, a platform for sales and training, a whole world of entertainment, and much more. That is why building reality apps is so in demand today. How to develop virtual reality applications? The whole process goes like this:

• ⭕ General discussion of the task with the customer. Its results are transformed into terms of reference, according to which the team will continue to work. This is an important stage, during which it is necessary for general terms, but quite accurately, to form a vision of what you want to get in the end, with what functionality and features.
• ⭕ Preliminary development. The volume, quality, and types of interactive solutions, animations, etc., are considered at this stage. The user’s sequential path is being worked out. As a rule, developers create several alternative options, work them out, and submit the most promising ones from their point of view for approval to the customer.
• ⭕ Equipment selection. Modern VR systems are still poorly standardized. Different types and models differ in functionality, features, and even principles of operation. Therefore, you need to choose a line of VR helmets or glasses for which new software will be written. Only this approach ensures that, in the end, it can work as it should. After that, the preparatory stage can be considered complete, and all the information necessary for further work has been collected.
• ⭕ Engineering and design. Developers are working on a prototype, thinking over all the app functions, and choosing an engine for virtual reality. Next, they create visual elements — order 3D models, develop interface design and icons, and select fonts.
• ⭕ Development and testing. Developers turn the prototype into an application: they write the code, embed 3D models into it, and see how virtual reality works. They test the application at all stages of development, optimize it and fix errors.
• ⭕ Release and support. Developers release the finished and tested application dozens of times to the store – along with screenshots and a description that they prepared in advance. After the release, they support the application – expand the functionality and update it for the current versions of the systems.

How to build VR apps: VR App benefits

Virtual reality is as popular on computers as it is on smartphones, but the emphasis is on entertainment. For businesses, VR on mobile devices is a better option. Its advantages:

• ⭕ accessibility – everyone has a smartphone, and the cost of mobile VR accessories is much lower than the cost of a “large” VR installation – people do not need to spend tens of thousands of rubles;
• ⭕ portability – a VR helmet for a computer does not work without this very computer (there are also stand-alone helmets, but they are expensive and not so powerful), which ties the user to a place. VR glasses can be used almost anywhere because you can always take your smartphone with you;
• ⭕ quick and easy setup – virtual reality on a PC often requires presets that a novice user will not be so easy to figure out. It is enough to download a mobile VR application from the store and run it.

Where is a VR APP useful?

Where VR app can be used:

• ⭕ Education. Virtual reality is a good way to thoroughly study the subject and consolidate the theoretical material with practice. VR can be used for teaching in universities and schools. Need to teach fifth graders about the northern lights in geography class? Don’t make them read a lengthy paragraph or watch a boring movie – take them on a VR tour of the North Pole during the polar night (even if geography is their first lesson).
• ⭕ Training of professional skills. In virtual reality, simulators are created for specialists – doctors, pilots, and shop workers. Try to understand how to develop virtual reality apps, because VR visualizes workflows, which helps save time, better remember the sequence of actions, and avoid mistakes in the future.
• ⭕ Construction and planning. Virtual reality allows you to reproduce the environment in 1/1 proportions and can depict what a building that has not yet been built will look like in the future. VR clearly shows how spacious the apartment will be, whether the furniture arrangement will be comfortable, and what mood the new wallpaper will create.
• ⭕ Trade. With the help of virtual reality, you can profitably show the product. The user can view the branded bag from all sides or “put” the sofa in the living room. The main advantage over augmented reality (AR) is that VR is much better at dealing with many objects and working with perspective.
• ⭕ Presentations. Virtual reality can be used as a promotional tool. For example, imagine a new clothing collection or a car model that does not yet have a physical prototype.  That is why it is essential to know how to build a virtual reality app and how to develop it.
• ⭕ Corporate conferences. VR will help a lot if your employees are in different parts of the world and you urgently need to submit a new business plan. In just a few minutes, you can seat everyone in a virtual conference room and display a presentation on the whiteboard. This format builds an immersive effect and draws more attention to the discussion.
• ⭕ Entertainment. They make it possible to engage in extreme sports without danger to life – skydiving, driving racing cars, canoeing on a seething river. Shooting and horror games are also popular.

Now you know the main steps of how to build a virtual reality app. In our software development consulting services, you can get more useful information about VR development. And our augmented reality application development service can help you to realize your project.