Virtual reality is becoming a wide spread tech trend across the world. Despite the sluggish adoption rate in African countries, smartphone users in other parts of the world are already using VR for games, movies, virtual tours and so on. The virtual reality experience requires a smartphone and a VR headset (like The Oculus Gear VR, Google Daydream, HTC Vive, Google Cardboard, etc.). The VR headset allows you to watch or play any content in 3D, giving you the feel of the real world, and your smartphone serves as the display device.
The thing is, not all smartphones support Virtual Reality, and as such, if you wish to purchase a VR headset for your old phone or you want to buy a new VR enabled smartphone, you need to look out for some specs. You can follow the steps below to check if your phone supports virtual reality.
1. Check for The Required Sensors.
Any VR enabled smartphone must have an Accelerometer, Magnetometer and Gyroscope. The accelerometer sensor detects the linear orientation of your smartphone, the Gyroscope sensor checks for rotation and angular movements. The magnetometer or compass sensor is used to know the direction of the phone with respect to earth’s magnetic field.
These sensors are what give the 3D experience in virtual reality. You can check if your phone has these sensors by checking the phone specs online.
2. Use VR compatibility checker Apps
There are quite a number of apps available on the Google Play Store that you can use to check if your phone is VR enabled. You can download some of them like VR checker, EZE VR and SensorBox. The apps will tell if your phone has the right sensors and display resolution to play VR content.
3. Use the YouTube App
You can use the YouTube app to check if your phone can play 360 degree videos, which is also part of Virtual Reality. Follow the steps below.
- Make sure you have the latest version of the YouTube app.
- When you open the YouTube app, search for a 360-degree video or just visit YouTube’s Playlist of best 360 Video.
- Switch to full-screen mode and put your phone in landscape mode.
- Tap the Google Cardboard logo at the bottom right corner, and your screen will divide into two parts showing the same video.
- Try to rotate and move your smartphone around and check if the video also follows your movements. If it does, then you have yourself a VR compatible smartphone
4. Use the Google Cardboard App
You can make use of the Google Cardboard app. You can download the app on Google PlayStore and on iTunes.
- Open the app and tap on Cardboard demos
- Turn your phone to landscape mode when you are prompted to put in the Cardboard.
- Just like the 360-degree video, you should be able to move your phone around to view more of the virtual environment in the Cardboard demo home screen.
As an extra option, you can check Freefly VR Website to see if your smartphone is listed among the VR compatible Smartphones.