Virtual reality is one piece of technology that is on a high right now and will remain so for many more years to come and more and more consumer electronics companies are working on incorporating this latest piece of technology in their devices along with coming up with VR headsets as well.
Chinese electronics company Xiaomi is the latest smartphone manufacturer to launch a VR headset. Like Samsung’s Gear VR and Google DayDream, it is essentially a way to strap your phone in front of your eyes and get immersed in a virtual reality.
This VR headset from Xiaomi is available only for beta testers for now considering over 1m users have registered to be among the beta testers since the announcement made by Xiaomi on August 1.
The Mi VR Play from Xiaomi will accept phones with screens between 4.7 and 5.7 inches and has a lycra cover with a zip to hold the device in place. Made specifically for Xiaomi smartphones, it has a hardware motion sensor inside, a 16ms latency time, and comes with a 9-axis motion controller. There are two holes in the front cover which serve two purposes: first to allow you to finely adjust the phone’s position and second to act as cooling vents – preventing your phone getting too hot.
Xiaomi Mi VR measures 201 x 107 x 91mm and weighs a little under 210g.
Xiaomi Mi VR Compatibility Devices
Currently, one needs to own either the Mi 5, the Mi 5S, Mi 5S Plus, or the new Mi Note 2 to enjoy virtual reality through the Xiaomi Mi VR. Along with the Mi VR headset will come the Mi VR app, an “open VR platform for China”. Some of the first partners include VR Hotcast, QIY, YouKu, OamaVR and Conde Nast VR innovation centre.
Xiaomi Mi VR Price
Xiaomi’s charging the local equivalent of just $30 for the Mi VR, which is less than half the cost of Gear VR. There will be a variety of designs to choose between, many of which are colourful which include Demin, Floral, Night Sky, Leopard, Lotus and Camo along with a plain black version.