Say Hello to Amazon Prime VR

Does anyone remember the Netflix VR app? Those of us who tried it mostly liked it. It put you in a nice upmarket apartment in front of a home theatre system and let you watch your fave shows in peace. So whether on public transport or at your own, less fancy home, you could have a great viewing experience. 

As neat as it was, the idea hasn’t really taken off yet. Perhaps the mistake was that Netflix didn’t offer any actual VR content. Now it’s Amazon’s turn to give it go. Perhaps their approach will prove a greater hit.

Prime Viewing

While they had a shaky start, Prime subscribers enjoy access to quite a substantial library these days. Amazon Originals are coming along nicely as well, with some anticipated titles on the horizon. If you have an Oculus Quest, Go or Gear VR you can grab the Prime VR App and watch everything regular app users can, as well as any content bought through Amazon.

Most interestingly, Amazon is set to offer actual VR video content. Which sets it apart from the likes of Netflix, who only offered the traditional content experience.

As for the actual app, we watched some streamers play around with it and it’s clearly early days. When choosing content, the user is thrown into a bright, cartoon environment filled with low-polygon buildings and characters. Thankfully, once you choose what to watch, you are transported to a dark theatre where you can watch your show in peace.

The app can be voice controlled, so everyone around you can hear exactly what you want to watch, which could lead to discovering new friends with shared interests. There’s no word if users of tethered headsets or PSVR users can expect a version of this in the future, but the Go and Gear VR solutions are pretty affordable, so if you want to try Amazon’s VR content, it won’t cost an arm and a leg to do so.