Experience the magic of Google Earth VR better than ever before with this app
Perhaps the biggest selling point of VR experiences is scale. Whenever someone tries VR for the first time you’ll often hear them remarking about how large something is. Google Earth VR was a PC VR app that, like many of Google’s projects, got abandoned. But now we have a new, better app, and it’s made by people who actually collaborated with Google.
Fly, made by VirZoom, lets users — you guessed it — fly around the world. In Fly, you get to pilot a small drone and explore the entirety of Earth from ground level all the way up to the clouds.
Fly was actually being developed a long time ago, and it was going to come out for PC VR just like Google Earth VR. But when Google dropped development for the Google Earth API, VirZoom had to abandon Fly as well…until recently.
Fly was actually being developed a long time ago, and it was going to come out for PC VR just like Google Earth VR. But when Google dropped development for the Google Earth API, VirZoom had to abandon Fly as well…until recently.
Time for some serious vertigo. | Video credit — VirZoom
Google made public a new 3D maps tiles API not too long ago, and VirZoom saw it as the perfect opportunity to finally finish their project. But VR has come a very long way in the intervening years since VirZoom worked with Google, and the market has changed as well.
Hence, Fly came out in December 2023 as a standalone app for some of the best VR headsets, including Meta Quest 3, Quest Pro and Quest 2. Since then it has also made its way to the Apple Vision Pro, where it looks the best according to the studio.
Though Google Earth VR is gone. Fly and EarthQuest now provide VR enthusiasts with multiple options of exploring our planet. I would still prefer Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 in VR, personally. It looks amazing and is very immersive with a proper HOTAS setup. But this is a very good alternative if you don’t have a beefy PC.
Fly can be bought for Meta Quest here and for Vision Pro here. Though why it costs $5 more on Apple’s headset, I do not know. Just be prepared for some shaky legs as you soar amongst the birds above Times Square.
Hence, Fly came out in December 2023 as a standalone app for some of the best VR headsets, including Meta Quest 3, Quest Pro and Quest 2. Since then it has also made its way to the Apple Vision Pro, where it looks the best according to the studio.
Though Google Earth VR is gone. Fly and EarthQuest now provide VR enthusiasts with multiple options of exploring our planet. I would still prefer Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 in VR, personally. It looks amazing and is very immersive with a proper HOTAS setup. But this is a very good alternative if you don’t have a beefy PC.
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