Almost every day new immersive user experiences and technologies come onto the market. 360 degree camera apps and the latest cameras for panoramic images are revolutionizing photography, social media and even marketing. With our mobile devices, we can capture all-around panoramic images to view them in stunning detail. Mobile apps and mobile phone cameras can take us on virtual tours to any place on earth.

360 degree camera apps

With all the hype about Virtual Reality (VR), everyone can now create their own 360 degree content with their smartphone. However, more sophisticated applications require special 360 degree cameras and devices.

The best 360 degree camera apps for Android.

Panorama.

The first Panorama app that immediately comes to mind is Panorama 360. By the way, we should warn you to be prepared for numerous app titles containing the words Panorama and 360.

Why is Panorama 360 one of the best 360 degree camera apps? It allows you to capture 360 degree panoramas and videos in 3 modes – normal, manual and real time. A single tap to start recording, move around with your smartphone and you`re done. The editor app automatically creates a panorama.

Over 5 million installations have already been made, which proves the solidity of this Android 360 app. In combination with modern trends, this camera app allows you to upload pictures to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. You can view images taken via the app either flat or with 3D viewers. Another cool feature is geo tagging – to mark the position of panoramas or see similar ones nearby.

Business model: in-app advertising + in-app purchases. In-app purchases are one of the most popular options to make money with a camera 360 degree app. Without buying, users can still use the app functionality for free, but additional features make it much more convenient.

  • If you buy a stitch later, you can take 10 times more panoramas and save 95% of the battery at the same time.
  • HP Capture allows users to access HD resolution for their own panoramas.
  • Dropbox Sync gives the user the ability to access and work directly with their Dropbox Cloud Storage.
  • Watermark removal allows panoramas to be stored without them.
  • Facebook sharing simplifies the sharing of actions for a user.

Photaf Panorama Pro.

With a simple interface and incredible photographic possibilities, Photaf is a great VR camera app. The high definition mode for taking 360 degree pictures allows you to use them as background image for your smartphone.

The app is a great way for real estate agents to present and market their products. You can create fascinating VR tours and/or 3D images of apartments and houses to arouse increased interest among customers.

The Photap camera app offers automatic image stitching, 360 degree panorama, photosphere and social media sharing. Users can export 3D images or move galleries to the smartphone`s SD card. There is also a premium version where you can upload images to the Photaf site and view them on your PC. Additional options are HD or portrait mode.

Business model: Paid App / In App advertising + In App purchases. Selling the app for the low price of about 2 € will increase the willingness of most users to buy the app even for one-time use only. On the other hand, there is a free version with ads and in-app purchases. It offers the user the possibility to unlock only certain features, whereas the pro version has everything unlocked.

  • HD mode.
  • Super HD mode.
  • Portrait mode.
  • Adjust the exposure.
  • Cancel vignetting.
  • Ad-free.

In-App ads appear when the app starts and remain active on the screen in the middle or bottom.

Roundme.

This is probably one of the most feature-rich 360 degree camera applications. Although the Android app is primarily aimed at displaying three-dimensional VR images on your smartphone or via a headset with a smartphone inserted.

To see properly, a smartphone should also have an accelerometer and a gyroscope. The motion-sensitive panorama viewer offers you only the best quality. To create and upload your own 360 degree content, you need to use the Roundme web service.

So with this 360 degree video app you can explore places, nature and cities by the best photographers, architects and artists. All images are of excellent quality, JPEG and TIFF formats up to 65,000 pixels in multiple resoultions. You can also search and enjoy panoramic views of any place in the world with the app, social media and feed included.

Business model: free app + subscription. Here, the app provides access to the advanced features and content of the app for a certain period of time instead of selling it all at once.

  • One month per account subscription.
  • Annual per account subscription (30% cheaper than a 12-month subscription in the summary).
  • In addition, this Foto-sphere App promises discounts for non-profit organizations.

The Pro-Account offers convenient terms of use:

  • No upload restrictions (free version is limited to max. 15 uploads per week).
  • High quality allows the creation of large images up to 65,000 px width (ideal for VR applications). Also 8-bit TIFF`s and JPEF`s formats are available.
  • Multiresolution helps to create the best VR panoramas.
  • Custom Branded Embeds allows you to get rid of the standard Roundme logo and add one of your own.
  • Safe & Secure Storage gives you access to your own cloud storage.
  • Not executed tours optionally hide your tours from the Roundme lists, but allow you to share them.

Pano.

Pano is not the most popular panorama app, but it does the job. The app has reliable functions for creating 3D images, an attractive user interface and panorama construction.

It uses up to 16 images from a smartphone and a semi-transparent on-screen guide to control your actions. Additional options like photo orientation and color correction make it one of the best 360-degree camera applications.

It creates 360 degree panoramas that are stored on your smartphone. The beauty of this app is its sole purpose – to take beautiful 360 degree pictures and save them to your own smartphone. A version for iPhones and Windows Phones is also already available. To find out what pictures people take with Pano, go to the official Pano 360 degree camera app group.

Business model: Paid app ($0.7). Pano no longer has any additional paid features. So you get access once and for all to all the features it contains and the function kit.

Sphere.

Have you ever wondered what Paris looks like from the sky? Do you want to get closer to the glaciers in Antarctica? With the Sphere 360 degree camera app you can take virtual tours around the globe and enjoy panoramic views.

As the title suggests, you can use this app to create great-looking spherical images as you travel and share them with your friends. This project started back in 2012 and has won several tech awards from Mashable, Wired and Travel Weekly.

Users can browse 360 degree content by category, location or related events. They can also create a news feed in the app to follow favorite photographers. And, of course, it`s possible to take panoramic pictures yourself (so far mainly with Samsung smartphones). Another great thing, especially for VR developers, is the free download of Sphere`s 360 Camera APK.

Business model: Free App. While this photo ball camera app is completely free to use, Sphere`s 360 Camera APK is also available for free download.

The best 360 degree camera apps for iPhone.

As you can see, 360 degree camera apps are becoming more and more important. No wonder, considering the huge popularity of virtual reality and 360 degree videos of any kind on YouTube. But most of the 360 degree panorama apps only offer one viewing experience. And of course there is a tendency for more of the to focus on user-generated content, i. e. more apps allow users to create and share their own panoramic photos. Let`s name some of the best 360 degree camera apps for iOS devices.

Cycloramic.

The winner of TechCrunch`s “best iOS app award” a few years ago is worth a closer look. The app has some features that put this 360 camera app on top. High resolution images up to 42 megapixels are possible. The app also offers a hands-free mode for 360 degree pictures. The automatic phone rotation around the phone leads to full panoramas when placed on a smooth surface, which can also be seen in headsets.

With over 20 million downloads, Cycloramic is a great mobile app for creating panoramic images quickly and easily. It works on the iPhone 5 / 5S / 6, iPad and Apple Watch. And it works really fast – it takes about 5 seconds to capture a 18ß degreee panorama. So 10 seconds for a complete 360 picture. Also worth mentioning is the possibility to transfer pictures to videos in medium or high resolution.

Business model: Paid App (2 €). Cycloramic offers full access to all app features after purchase. So you don`t have to spend more to unlock better features.

Panorama.

Yet another app titled Panorama, but in this case, it`s not all that easy. By that we mean that this application uses a truly scientific approach to image stitching for both iOS and Mac. It`s the mathematical technique of image matching, which is particularly suitable for panoramas of architecture and buildings.

The app does not distort horizontal image borders to a panorama. Of course they do not reveal the algorithm used, but the resulting 360 degree images appear rather flat and less spherical. The app automatically adds geographic location data to images that users take.

A useful feature that can be highlighted is the horizontal or vertical panorama selection – to choose a shooting method, which leads to a variety of possibilities. Users can also export individual original images from a panorama view. There are also many ways to edit back and forth options. The premium version with advanced features is available for 12 €.

Business model: Free App / Paid App. Although the app is free for use on iPhones and iPads, it has limited content, features and options. The mac version, however, has all the advanced features available. In other words, to create something really great, you have to use the Mac version.

FOV.

Formerly known as Photonomy, FOV is one of the best 360 degree camera apps for the iPhone that works in real-time mode. You can not only create panoramic images by moving horizontally around your smartphone. The app works in such a way that you can move in all directions while taking pictures. What`s also great about the FOV app is that users can instantly share 360 degree content via messenger.

The app works in such a way that you can move in all directions while taking pictures. It`s also worth mentioning that users can share 360 degree content via Messenger like iMessenger, Facebook or WhatsApp.

This 360-degree panoramic app also gives users access to the extensive collection of landscapes and places from New York and Paris.

Business model: Free App. It is completely free of advertising and in-app purchases. Users are entitled to use all functions and content of the app from the beginning.

Fyuse.

They call their images “Fyusen” to mark 3D images in a special way. This 360 degree app is full of fun features and also tends to social networking. Users create personal profiles, take photos, share them publicly or privately via messenger services.

For example, integrating Fyuse with iMessenger or Facebook Messenger so that it can be run in conversations. They can be part of the community, find and invite friends. Fun things like stickers, filters, 3D text overlay are added regularly.

But let`s not forget the main feature – 360 degree images. The process is similar to other 360 degree camera apps, although Fyuse brings elements of Augmented Reality (AR) into the process. Before you start shooting the object or a person, the app creates a guide sheet for the direction. See some of the most amazing results as Top-Fyuse.

As for the technical side of Fyuse, the app is available in several languages and requires an iOS 8.0 device or newer. It is also compatible with iPads and iPods Touch.

Business Model: Free App. The app is free and is highly recommended for Facebook Messenger users, while it allows you to share your panoramas with it.

Twister.

360 degrees Selfies? Aren`t you curious about it? With this iPhone app, your Selfie not only takes a picture of you, but also captures your entire environment right where you are. Similarly, users can walk around the places and objects and take a kind of virtual tour. This function is called 360 Spot by the manufacturer. The app also contains many other useful functions.

Twister allows users to create 360-degree panoramas with a smartphone in high quality and includes many editing tools such as image rotation, instant effects, zoom function, sharp coloring etc. The Twister app is packed with features like video sessions, voice control, photo timer and social sharing.

Business model: Free of charge.

We hope we have helped you with this list of the most popular 360 degree camera apps and wish you a nice day.

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