Just What Is Virtual Reality (VR)?

Virtual Reality Doesn't Mean What You Think it Means

Just as hoverboards don't actually hover, everything people are calling VR isn't necessarily "VR." Here's how to tell the difference.

Joshua Goldman | March 9, 2016

Blame the media. Blame Google search. Blame lazy marketing. But just like hoverboards that don't actually hover, everything you view in Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear VR or any number of other VR headsets is not necessarily "virtual reality."
But, it's too late to go back now. VR is the catch-all name for all manner of things experienced with goggles on -- from first-person video games that envelope you in a completely computer-generated 3D world to viewing your friend's 360-degree vacation video on YouTube to CNET's immersive CES 2016 coverage.

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/Yogeshkewlani/virtual-reality-39791892, published October 2, 2014.

<more at http://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-terminology-vr-vs-ar-vs-360-video/; related links and articles: http://www.cnet.com/news/2016-vr-meet-1993-vr/ (2016 VR, meet 1993 VR. The hype for virtual reality back then was as big as the hype now. March 5, 2016) and http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2015/nytvr/ (WITH NYT VR, The New York Times takes a step into virtual reality. Our free phone app can be used — along with your headphones — to simulate richly immersive scenes from across the globe. You can use the app on its own, just by moving your smartphone. But the experience is even better with a Google Cardboard virtual reality viewer. You can buy one here. March 9, 2016)>