Facebook Has Officially Launched The ‘Spaces App’ At The F8 Developer’s Conference

Nathan Ernest Olupot April 19, 2017

1 minute read

An attendee waits to try the newly announced Facebook Spaces virtual reality platform during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

At its ongoing annual F8 Developer Conference, Menlo Park-based social networking firm, Facebook Inc. showcased its efforts in the VR space by introducing a new app dubbed ‘Spaces‘ – that allows Oculus Rift users to connect their Facebook accounts and move in a virtual world, talking to their friends in digital avatar form.

Facebook CEO and Founder; Mark Zuckerberg also further went a head and announced the launch on his Facebook Timeline, writes;

“We just launched Facebook Spaces, our social virtual reality platform. With Spaces, you can hang out with your friends, teleport anywhere and do anything.” “The actors enjoyed shooting this video so much that they asked if they could stay in Spaces for a few hours after they were done.”

Users create their own avatars by choosing one of their Facebook photos and the app will automatically generate an avatar based on their image. While creating your avatar, you can change your eye color, hairstyle, facial features and more until your look fits your identity.

Quoting TechCrunch, up to four users can join a ‘Space’ to chat, draw, watch 360-degree videos, make video calls on Messenger and even take VR selfies.

“You and your friends can relive personal memories from your own Timelines, or even make new ones as you explore things that interest you from people and Pages you follow,” said Rachel Franklin, Head of Social VR at Facebook, in an official blogpost.

<center>An attendee waits to try the newly announced Facebook Spaces virtual reality platform during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam</center> — An attendee waits to try the newly announced Facebook Spaces virtual reality platform during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

She further mentioned that the company has just “scratched the surface of social VR technology” and Facebook in future will continue to “transform the way people around the world stay connected with their communities and those closest to them.”[related-posts]

Honorable Mention:
According to online reports we attained, Facebook-owned Photo & Video sharing platform Instagram, confirmed that users will soon be able to use most of the app’s features offline.

Editor’s Note: Spaces is said to initially hit Oculus Rift and Touch, followed by other VR platforms. It can be downloaded from the Oculus Store.