This friendly design approach influences the Merge’s compatibility, with a generous phone slot that holds most iOS and Android smartphones. This allows you to hold the headset like binoculars and enjoy dual-controller experiences that so many phone apps require.
Categories include classroom-friendly education apps, short games, YouTube 360 videos, and other options. VR Wear’s family-friendly headset fits screen sizes up to 6.5 inches, so it’s compatible with even the largest iPhones.
Each lens can be adjusted in four different ways, including focus and interpupillary distance to get just the right fit for the 105-degree field of vision. We like to have plenty of adjustment options like this, because they are a great way to find settings that reduce dizziness and motion sickness. The thoughtful VR Wear headset design also makes a hole for an earbud cable to fit through, a separate vent so the goggles don’t fog up, and a well-padded eye rest (which may be too big for particularly young users). But our favorite feature is probably the two faceplate stickers that this bundle comes with, allowing you to customize the face of the headset to suit your personality. One other thing to carefully note: The Bnext VR Headset only supports screen sizes up to 6.3 inches, which is a bit smaller than the largest iPhone models available today. Moving up to a more premium offering, the fifth version of Destek’s VR headset for mobile includes a Joy-Con-like one-handed Bluetooth controller. The Destek V5 VR Headset includes an adjustable head strap to hold it in place, a plastic chassis, and a cradle for your phone. This versatile headset from Atlasonix will fit any phones up to a 6.2-inch screen, and allows users to adjust both focal distance and OD for field of view, with thorough instructions that help teach how everything works together.
The frame and foam inset are both very durable while offering thorough eye protection, a strong choice for weathering the bumps and drops that active VR users can sometimes encounter.
5 Best VR Headsets for iPhone
The virtual content quality you perceive and experience is entirely dependent on the VR headset you own. Within the last few years, there have been numerous really great VR headsets released, but not all of them can be used with Apple iPhones.
By merging these two bodes well, permitting you to appreciate a cinema-quality 3D movie experience in the solaces of your own home. The latter is also the reason why we tested VR headsets by watching movies and ranking these on different criteria like: visual immersiveness, interactiveness, comfort, and ease of setup.
VR headsets for iPhone
If you’re an iPhone owner, there are a variety of great and affordable VR headsets out there that let you tap into the many virtual reality experiences available on the App Store or get lost in immersive 360-degree videos on YouTube. These devices let you visit new countries or explore outer space from the comfort of your couch for less than $50, and are especially ideal for younger users looking to learn and play in VR for the first time. This headset works with phones ranging from 4.7 to 6.8 inches in screen size, and packs anti-blue-light coating lenses to keep your eyes from getting strained during long play sessions.
The 11-ounce Destek V5 is also built with comfort in mind, with a washable, breathable fabric face cover and a generously spaced design that leaves room for users with glasses.
This headset taps into the Merge Miniverse, a curated feed of videos from channels such as National Geographic and Discovery VR that let you do things like see a hammerhead shark up close or explore the Alamo. It also works with the Merge Cube (sold separately for $19.99), opening up a variety of fun augmented reality experiences that let you “hold” 3D objects and see wildlife, planets and gadgets up close.
This headset offers up to a 100-degree field of view, complete with a glasses-friendly design and anti-blue-light lenses to keep your eyes safe.
The best VR headset in 2021
While there are plenty of virtual reality headsets to choose from, the list of stellar VR goggles is fairly narrow. In fact, our own Imad Khan managed to find a very compelling reason to get the Oculus Quest 2 over other VR headsets.
Do bear in mind you’ll need a good bit of free space to get the most out of these headsets, especially if you plan on doing room-scale VR.
Its simple setup means you’ll be playing games like Batman: Arkham VR and Star Trek: Bridge Crew in no time.
It sports a slicker design, better display resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate in some games and apps, and faster overall performance. Furthermore, the suite of apps and games on the Oculus Store can make the Quest 2 a great headset for all kinds of VR experiences, even helping with your workout and saving your from a dull fitness regime. Oculus Rift S Best VR headset for PC TODAY’S BEST DEALS Low Stock View at Walmart Recommended Retailer View at Oculus Prime View at Amazon 16 Amazon customer reviews ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Reasons to buy + Built-in room tracking + Great game library + Included touch controllers Reasons to avoid – Not a huge upgrade over original Oculus Rift – PC required The original Oculus Rift was one of the best VR headsets around for connecting to a PC and enjoying immersive gaming.
It also has a rather neat feature in the form of speakers that are integrated in the headband, avoids the need to use the original Rift’s onboard headphones;the audio results are fairly impressive. And it comes with the impressive Touch Controllers that nearly track movements and help make VR feel a lot more kinetic and immersive.
Overall, the Oculus Rift S is the best VR headset for folks looking for a PC-based system that plays a huge library of great games for a decent price. The Oculus Rift S won a “highly recommended” honor for “best VR headset” at the Tom’s Guide Awards 2021 for gaming.
It combines a neat headset that looks semi-futuristic and is surprisingly comfortable, with a superb range of games that’s been slowly expanding. HTC Vive Best VR headset for immersive experiences TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon 3 Amazon customer reviews ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Reasons to buy + Smooth graphics with little latency + Touch controllers are easy to use and highly adaptable + Large game library Reasons to avoid – Requires a lot of space and electrical outlets to use – No built-in audio The result was a stellar VR headset that delivered a virtual reality experience that really had you moving around rather than sitting in one place and looking around. The controls are a high-point too, at the time offering a more revolutionary feeling of being able to literally reach out and grab something, albeit by pulling a trigger than gripping with your hands.
The only thing to bear in mind here is that it requires external tracking sensors, a powerful PC to run, and a good degree of set up and space. Valve Index The best controls and tracking in VR TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon Prime View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Great build quality + Smartly designed controllers + Future expansion options Reasons to avoid – No charging cable in the box – Heavy
There’s a lot to like about the Index, as it comes with an LCD panel that offers variable refresh rates to suit the power of your PC. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide) As it stands, if you want some virtual reality action on the PS5 and Xbox Series X your out of luck… mostly.
A major part of initial testing involves evaluating how much space is needed to set up one of our picks for the best VR headsets to get the most out of them. Whether it’s a traditional gamepad or something more elaborate, like the Rift’s Touch Controllers, we’re checking to see if the input devices are ergonomically designed; after all, no one wants hand cramps.
The Best VR Headsets for 2022
With a headset and motion tracking, VR lets you look around a virtual space as if you’re actually there, or play a game as though you’re in it. VR’s been gaining traction in recent years thanks to compelling games and experiences, though it still seems very much in a state of flux, with headsets coming and going fairly rapidly. Oculus is focusing its efforts on a standalone VR headset, the Quest 2, but providing the option to connect it to a PC.
Even Microsoft is (sort of) supporting its Windows Mixed Reality platform with a scant few third-party headsets.
The cable makes them a bit unwieldy, but putting all of the actual video processing in a box that you don’t need to directly strap to your face means your VR experience can be a lot more complex. Either external sensors or outward-facing cameras provide full 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) movement tracking for both your head and your hands, thanks to motion-sensing controllers.
Standalone headsets offer the greatest physical freedom by completely removing the cables and not requiring an external device to handle processing. The Quest 2 lacks a dedicated gaming PC’s processing power, but its high-end mobile processor can still push detailed, smooth graphics.
The company’s bowing out of the dedicated, tethered VR headset, though, discontinuing the Rift S in favor of focusing entirely on the standalone Quest 2. That’s hard to swallow, even if the Index features a 120Hz refresh rate, notably higher than most of its competitors (with an experimental 144Hz mode). They can track individual finger movements, making games (that take advantage of them) much more immersive than the standard trigger grips on other controllers. This high-end PC VR headset targets both enthusiasts and professionals, with the sharpest picture available at 2,448 by 2,448 pixels per eye.
It features a higher resolution, and replaces the external base stations with outward-facing cameras for motion tracking. There are some excellent games on PS VR like Moss, Rez Infinite, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, and Five Nights at Freddie’s: Help Wanted.
The newly rebranded-to-Meta Facebook might eventually be pushing the Quest 2 and other Oculus devices even further, with a bigger eye for broad platform integration. The company’s plans to build a “metaverse” will likely include AR and VR systems, and the Oculus division would be the natural means for that. VP of AR/VR at Facebook, Andrew Bosworth, has stated that the metaverse will “build the connective tissue” between Oculus headsets and other Facebook/Meta devices, so they will certainly be involved. Basically, these AR headsets have transparent lenses that let you look at your surroundings instead of completely replacing your vision with a computer-generated image.
You can make a web browser pop up in the middle of a room, for instance, or watch animals run around your coffee table.
Best iPhone VR Headsets
Since most VR headsets cannot fully support yet some iPhone interfaces, the features are not that very reliable. Hence, it is only fitting that you choose the VR headset that can cater functions and features that can decently accommodate your phone.
Best VR headsets to buy in 2021
Despite all that, the Quest 2 remains an extremely strong entry point to VR that doesn’t look like it will become obsolete next year. The more expensive and business-targeted Vive Focus 3 shows where more premium standalone VR headsets could evolve. Sarah Tew/CNET Good: Self-contained and wireless; great touch controllers; comfortable design for gaming; doubles as PC VR headset Bad: Requires Facebook account At $299 with nothing else needed, the Oculus Quest 2 delivers virtual reality games and an immersive VR experience anywhere.
It’s faster, smaller, cheaper and more comfortable to wear than the original Quest, but you have to log in to Facebook in order to use it.
The Quest 2 reminds me of the Nintendo Switch for its versatility and fun, plus it takes mere seconds to start up and fits really well over glasses. Its more limited mobile processor still plays games such as Beat Saber, Moss and SuperHot VR extremely well, and it can even connect with a PC if you want to, using a single USB-C cable.
The 2,160×2,160-per-eye resolution and 114-degree field of view are the best at this price range, and the lightweight, comfy headset also has fantastic drop-down speakers designed by Valve. Built-in camera-based room-tracking is easier to set up than the Valve Index’s external base stations, but is more prone to tracking errors.
Sarah Tew/CNET Good: Amazing futuristic controllers; high-quality headset; works with Vive hardware Bad: Expensive; requires room setup and tethering cable Valve’s headset might be the most interesting PC virtual reality experience this year, just for its fancy new controllers.
Not many apps make the most of them yet, but Valve’s hardware is mix-and-match compatible with the HTC Vive, which also is built on the Steam VR platform. It’s not as self-contained as Oculus’ Rift S, which can track the room with in-headset cameras, or the HTC Vive Cosmos. Sarah Tew/CNET Good: Plenty of games; lower price; works with many PS4 controllers like the DualShock and Move Bad: Resolution isn’t cutting-edge; Sony hasn’t yet made great VR controllers that match the competition, but a new version may be coming next year Sony’s years-old PSVR headset is still the only head-mounted display for gaming consoles and its screen still offers a surprisingly immersive experience.
But Sony’s confirmed it’s working on a next-gen PSVR headset for the PS5, with a new set of controllers, that could be coming in 2022 if you want to wait. There are a lot of expected headsets next year, as I mentioned above: Meta’s Project Cambria, PlayStation VR 2 and Apple’s mystery device. VR is a technology that’s still in flux, with companies aiming for products that are smaller and more able to be connected to devices like phones.
The Quest 2 is by far the best value, and it also happens to be the best-designed headset with the most upside at the moment, as long as you’re OK with the proposition of living under Meta’s metaverse umbrella and Facebook’s data policies.
Most PC VR headsets have similar controller designs, and can bridge to work tools and apps. Take extra care with the lenses, which should be cleaned gently with microfiber cloths the same way you’d treat glasses (don’t use liquids).
6 Best VR Headsets for iPhone and Android
Though watching videos on your mobile is palatable enough for some, many still shoot for better immersion and complete experience with VR headsets. Google Cardboard is a fun, inexpensive way to turn nearly any iPhone or Android phone into a virtual reality viewer; however, the simplistic setup means your experience won’t come close to what high-end VR goggles like Oculus or Gear VR can provide. Daydream View is a easy-to-use headset made from Lightweight stretch fabric with a hand-washable facepad.
The new version is added with a wireless controller compared to its predecessors, which makes the app infinitely easier to navigate than when only a head-mounted touchpad was available. This pair of VR goggles is made from allegedly “marshmallow soft” and “drop-tested” antimicrobial material with adjustable lenses. It has three adjustable straps for flexible wear, and is padded around the nose bridge and face foam protecter with perforated leather.
Download VeeR’s app once your gear is good to go, and feast your eyes on a world of amazing VR content!
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