Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
When I’m planning a trip to a new destination, I try to get a feel for the place before I leave — especially if I’m going abroad. Not that I’m trying to mitigate culture shock, but it’s helpful to know what the areas I’m visiting actually look like. I prefer knowing how walkable the area around my hotel is and what kind of restaurants are nearby ahead of time. Google Maps is of course my first choice for this task, and I’ve spent hours mindlessly tapping away.
But there’s a better way. Nearly a decade ago, Google quietly released an app that lets you roam around the entire world and actually feel like you’re standing in it. I’m talking about Google Earth VR, an app designed for the first generation of PC headsets but still works on modern hardware. It may not be the most accessible version of Google Earth, but it’s a one-of-a-kind experience that has stuck with me and still offers first-person perspective immersion like nothing else out there.
Google Earth, but you’re the main character
What makes Google Earth VR so special? The app wastes no time to demonstrate — the welcome tour opens with you suspended high above the Arches National Park in Utah at the crack of dawn. Press a button and time accelerates until the sun rises fully and the red rocks beneath are bathed in a warm glow. You get a few seconds to gaze at this endless vista surrounding you, but it’s not long before you’re dropped in the middle of Tokyo and surrounded by tall buildings instead. Finally, it shuttles you through a series of notable landmarks around the world, each at different times of day.
By the end of the tour, you’re familiarized with the controls and left to explore. This is where Google Earth VR shines — you can fly yourself up to float above entire countries or shrink down to ground level and strain your neck to see the top of super tall buildings. You have the option to rotate the world around you, change perspectives, or gradually drift through a city like a drone. It’s all smooth movement and you always feel like you’re in control.
Google Earth VR lets you stand in the middle of a dense city or fly through it like a drone.
The Earth VR app also really comes into its own when you’re in a city where Google has collected detailed 3D imagery like Tokyo, New York, and Paris. Scale yourself down to street level and it feels like you’re physically there, just without the crowds or traffic around you. But even the best photogrammetry looks like an AI-generated mess when you’re within spitting distance of it. Buildings turn mushy, cars look melted, and fine detail disappears.
Luckily then, the folks at Google employed a genius solution — moving a controller up to your head switches you into Street View. There’s no better way to explain it than to say it’s like standing in a Street View photo. You’re at human height, free to look around with your head naturally. Better yet, you can teleport a few feet at a time to the next street view image or cross the street to see a different perspective. You can “walk” through an entire city this way, ironically emulating an open world game.
Street View in VR: A game changer for travel
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