Being able to watch a 360 degree video in the browser. Optionally hit a button and put on a headset and use head tracking to look instead of click+drag.
Playing VR games using something like daydream, oculus, etc... All within the browser.
The idea being it keeps the same cross-platform, cross-device, cross-"viewer" (VR headset, phone screen, computer screen, KB+mouse, touchscreen, etc...) that the web is built on.
You probably won't be making the next AAA title in the browser just yet, but it's more than capable of games, videos, and other VR "experiences".
The benefit to having this content in the Web are:
- Open ecosystem
- No gatekeepers or app stores
- No downloads / installs
- Link traversal (hop from one VR experience to another without having to change "apps")
- Instant publish (throw up a site without a review process)
- Instant sharing (Tweet a link to a VR site)
- More accessible for content creators or web developers (HTML, JS)
- Larger audience: no one is going to download a VR app for your small store, but they would more likely click a link on a web page to open it
- Easier to do cross-platform content
It's as if every website needed a downloadable exe and there were no such things as hyperlinks between websites.
WebVR opens up the possibility of navigating between apps, building sites that curate or embed apps - all the richness that distinguishes the web from silo'ed apps.
VR really suits the idea of 'browsing' so making it part of the web is extremely natural.