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Click around sweet 3D Facebook posts as update adds more VR to News Feed

Hillary K. Grigonis
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Virtual reality content isn’t just for Facebook Camera anymore. On Tuesday, February 20, Facebook added support for the GITF 2.0 file format — which means more interactive 3D posts are coming straight to your News Feed. The change brings more detailed interactive posts that allow users to scroll around in a 360 view of an object, all without leaving the News Feed.

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Facebook announced 3D compatibility on the News Feed last fall, but the latest update adds support for an industry-standard file format. This format, Faceboook says, allows for more detailed interactive graphics to enter the News Feed, including 3D art that includes texture and lighting effects. Inside the News Feed, the more detailed 3D posts can be explored by tapping or clicking to explore every angle of the graphic.

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Besides just the cool factor, the 3D posts open up potential real-world uses made possible by exploring the graphic from any angle. Wayfair, for example, has already used the new feature to allow Facebook fans to see furniture from every angle.

With the updated file format support, tech companies are already launching ways to use the new format. Sony has made the Xperia XZ1 3D Creator App scans compatible and Modo, a modeling software, has already built-in a Facebook-ready file feature. Facebook’s own Oculus Medium now allows users to share objects from the web gallery. Facebook is updating the GRAPH API to allow third-party apps to build the new format into their programs, so the number of 3D programs that can share to Facebook in-app will likely grow.

Facebook says the latest file format support is just the beginning — the social media giant is already discussing support for higher-quality 3D as well as mixing those 3D objects into the real world using augmented reality. “In the future, we envision a seamless digital world where people can share immersive experiences and objects like these across VR, AR and Facebook News Feed,” Facebook’s Aykud Gonen wrote on Facebook’s developer blog. “To get there, we’ll work on supporting even higher-quality 3D models, enabling interactive animations and bringing 3D content into the real world using AR. This is only the beginning, and we look forward to seeing the ecosystem of 3D content grow on Facebook as people, developers and artists contribute their creativity.”

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