Speaking to media in Sydney last week, Boost Mobile co-founder and former CEO of 360Fly Peter Adderton said that the future of the 360-degree is not as an accessory but rather as a function integrated into the camera of modern smartphones.

What’s more, he argued that 360-cameras will be a driver for VR rather than the other way around.

“360, the format, is going to be huge,” he said.

Recounting his involvement with 360Fly, Adderton said he was brought in by Qualcomm (an investor in 360Fly) to help bring the product to market.

While Adderton says “We took that to the #1 360-camera in the marketplace,” he also admits that “The market perception of how fast people were going to adapt to VR and 360 typically is always way too early.”

He says he doesn’t see the category truly taking off until late 2017-2018 as a result.

“I don’t think it’s going to be dependent on VR. I actually think that 360-cameras are going to drive VR,“ he said.