Written by J.D. Blackwood
VR experiences no longer have to entail expensive, specialized equipment. Now, people can explore VR content from apps on their smartphones. One of those apps is called Within, and it is available for iOS devices through the Apple App Store. I am not quite sure how it got its name, but within the app, there is a series of VR content that is broken down into subcategories. The app’s content is divided into Animated, Music, Documentary, Horror, Experimental, and The Archives categories. There is an option to look at the featured content or all of the content as well. Some of the content is definitely better made than other content, so be mindful of that when switching from one item to another. Also, this app does not allow for interactive VR.
Figure 1: Screenshots from the Within app. Source: Apple App Store.
Content
Through its content, the app offers users beautiful immersive stories, award-winning documentaries, and so much more. The app’s creators call it their “love letter to the emerging art form of Cinematic VR,” and the app really exemplifies this. This is by far one of the best VR apps that I have had the chance to use. All of the content is from independent creators, and some content is better made than others, though you will not be disappointed. It offers photo-realistic people and places either captured with cameras or through CGI. One of the best parts? It is all free and there are no ads. Whether you want to immerse yourself into the world of Mozart (recorded in a magnificent old church) or walk through the halls of the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama as your guides, you can do so without the annoyance of seeing an ad. This allows you to have a completely uninterrupted experience of the content. That content is also getting better. Each month the app creators add more content as it is made and becomes available. The archives also allows users to see stuff that was previously featured.
Figure 2: Screenshot of the Insula Orchestra’s “Mozart: Agnus Dei” performance on Within. Source: Within.
With over 100 choices (currently 108 to be precise), from a variety of genres, users are for sure going to get an experience like no other. Two of my favorite categories are Music and Documentaries. The music portion offers users some classical, U2, and a few other options. I am sure that as the app gets updated and more content made, it will have more choices. I particularly love the animation choices in the app. It is a great way to just step out of reality a bit.
How to use it
While you can use the app without headphones, the app recommends that users use them to get the most out of the enhanced spatial audio that is provided. Although Within is designed to work with Google Cardboard or a Cardboard-certified VR viewer, you can use it without a headset. Even without additional technology, the app offers a special 360-degree mode that allows you to step into the world through a magical window to immerse yourself in the VR world. I do not think it is as good as using the app with a VR viewer, but you may find it to be just fine. I do recommend using headphones, though. You will have a much better experience using the app in either mode with headphones—partly for your own comfort and so as not to distract others around you.
Figure 3: Screenshot of viewing options presented on Within. Source: Within.
Cons
One particular drawback is that, in order to view the content at the highest quality, users have to download the content onto their devices. Streaming the content occurs at a lower quality than if the content is downloaded. Downloading is much better, but it requires sufficient space on the device to store said content. Otherwise, users could run into problems.
Additionally, if users are interested in one specific category, they may have limited options. As I mentioned above, I love music. Classical is one of my favorites, but there are limited options for items specifically in this genre. The app has limited content in each category because it is all still being created. Although currently at 108 items, the content in each section varies based on how much has been created. At the time of this writing, Horror has six items and Music has eight items. Documentaries offers 43 options, by far the most of any of the categories. Animated comes in second with 29 options, some of which are also found in Music. Even some of the content in Experimental is also found in other areas.
Conclusion
If you like cinematic VR, give this app a try. You will be pleasantly surprised by the creativity of the content creators and by the app’s ability to make you feel like you are somewhere else in the universe, even if only for a few minutes. One last note: take a spin through the BreathePeace World under Animated or Featured. It is a stress reduction app that helps in those times when you are super stressed out. I have used it more than once, and each time, it helps calm my inner being down so that I can focus on the task at hand. Other content may do the same for you, so do not be afraid to explore in depth. Spoiler: some content may make you cry. Are you ready to step into an alternate world?