VR SKY CX – V3 (2016)

Presentation: While nothing amazing, the plain black box is pretty nice. With clear text expressing what it does and what power it is. There is also a nice image of the headset on top of the box that fits well with the black background. Inside the box, there is a plastic tray with everything nicely bagged and protected. There shouldn’t be any damage to anything during transit as it is mostly protected.

VR SKY CX – V3Box Contents

• Headset
• Instruction Booklet
• 2 Pin Plug USB Adaptor
• Micro USB Cable
• Headphones
• Headband
• Main Head Strap

Description: Getting it out of the box for the first time I instantly noticed how much lighter it was than I thought it would have been. A Gear VR with Smartphone is about 455g and this headset is only 416g which it noticeable lighter. Looking around the headset the button configuration seems pretty straightforward with the main navigation pad on the right (same as the Gear VR) and some others on the left. But I didn’t feel put off or confused by any of them.

VR SKY CX – V3 Specs…

Headset: VR SKY CX – V3
Manufacturer: Allwinner
Launch Price: $150 ($109)
Release Date: July 2016
Headset Type: VR Headset (All-in-one)
Display: 5.5″ LCD at 1920 × 1080
Field of View(FOV): 100°
Refresh Rate: 40 Hz
CPU: Octa-Core Cortex-A7 (2.00GHz)
GPU: PowerVR SGX544 (700MHz)
Interpupillary Distance Adjustment: Yes
Screen Focus Adjustment: No
Weight: 416g (14.67 oz)
Tracking: 3 DoF Non-positional

Review: Getting down to features it’s main use is as a VR driven video player. But this is not just a set of video glasses, you can watch 360 videos and look around 360 images with it. With it’s own built-in private VR cinema app you can watch whatever you want in peace and quiet. Pop in the headphones and away you go. While everything is a little basic that also means it is easy to use. Within just a few minutes I worked out how to get around it. It is also pretty immersive and comfortable thanks to it being surprisingly lightweight which also makes it good for watching films which can often mean wearing it for a long time.

While it doesn’t have many of the gaming features people might want, it does have some good 360 video and content playback options, all done in surprisingly good quality, comfort and immersion. Watching films and looking around 360 videos in it looks great and more importantly, it has a good FOV which really helps make the content immersive.

Your own satisfaction with the headset is going to be down to what you expect it to do for the price you pay. This is and indeed never was going to be a full VR games machine that you can play in VR and forget using your smartphone. But what it is, is a good VR driven set of video glasses that you can enjoy 360 videos, images and content with. Just being able to watch a film in the VR cinema is worth the price of this headset alone. No more worries that your smartphone might overheat or that you will get a notification halfway through watching a film and ruin it, things like that are gone with this device.

If you love watching your films in your own private VR cinema (and we know a lot of people who do love doing just that) this headset is perfect. If you are looking for a VR games machine, you will be sadly disappointed.