Table of Contents
The global telecommunications market is saturated with smartphones sold under dozens of brand names and manufacturer labels. It can be tough to tell which cell phones are designed to support cutting-edge features, such as virtual reality. If you are wondering if your smartphone is VR supported, below is a list of VR supported phones, categorized alphabetically by brand name.
VR Equipment for Phones
Cell phones are a perfect platform for VR, due to their integration of an image recording camera, audio playback speakers, and clear viewing screens. They can handle all of the requirements and processing necessities to support virtual reality; however, they are missing one thing: A headset. True virtual reality requires the user to be completely immersed—visually and audibly—while in motion. The only way to experience mobile virtual reality is with a VR supported phone and a compatible VR headset.
Mobile VR Headsets
The complexity of these headsets varies from comically simplistic to highly advanced. On the simple, frugal side of the isle is the Google Cardboard VR headset. Google Cardboard is literally made out of cardboard and features two lenses between the user’s phone and their eyes. Google Cardboard was the first widely recognized mobile VR headset and was a beautiful proof of concept for the simplicity of VR headset design. On the opposite end of the spectrum, is Gear VR from Samsung. Gear VR hooks up seamlessly to any VR supported Android phone and allows the user to interface with VR content in infinitely more intricate ways. Gear VR is one of the many VR headsets that feature a remote controller with which users can interface with their phone without removing it from the headset.
VR headsets range in price from less than $10 to over $100. The kind of headset that is right for you will depend on the type of VR supported phone that you own, as well as what kind of VR usage you intend to engage in. Watching your favorite movies and TV shows in VR is similar to watching an IMAX movie. You feel like you are inside the story and, for many, viewability is the main purpose of their VR use. For strictly viewing content, many of the more inexpensive VR headsets will function admirably as there is little need to interface with the phone once your content is playing. However, if you are more interested in the wide world of interface options in mobile VR, it will behoove you to look at some of the higher quality VR headsets, such as Gear VR and Google Daydream View.
VR Supported Phones by Brand
Apple
Apple is probably the most recognizable name in the industries of telecommunications and IT. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, the company has come to be the father of the smartphone as we know it. Apple has consistently been at the cutting edge of mobile tech innovation and digital mass media storage technologies. Apple’s list of VR phones includes:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
Asus
Asus is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, and is a computer hardware manufacturing company. As of 2 years ago, Asus was the 4th largest PC vendor in the world, by unit sales, and has received ample recognition from the IT media as one of the top 10 IT hardware companies in the world. Asus has developed a reputation of making high-quality hardware and was founded by four former Acer engineers in 1989. Asus’ list of VR phones includes:
- Padfone Infinity
- Padfone X
- ZenFone 2
- ZenFone AR
- ZenFone Selfie
- ZenFone Zoom
Blu
The list of Blu VR phones includes:
- Life Pure XL
- Pure XL
- Vivo 4.8 HD
- Life One X2
BQ
The list of BQ VR phones includes:
- Aquaris E5s
- Aquaris M5
Coolpad
Coolpad’s list of VR phones include…
- MAX
Elephone
The list of Elephone VR phones includes:
- P9000
- R9
- Vowney
GiONEE
The list of VR phones from GiONEE include:
- S6s
- M6
- M6 Plus
Google has recently unveiled its own high-functioning VR headset called the Daydream View. Google is not a company to be underestimated when it comes to IT innovation and capturing the interest of a world market. They are poised to perhaps be a contender as a mobile VR frontrunner as they have designed the Google Pixel phone specifically for use with the Google Daydream View. Though they are somewhat new to the mobile device scene, Google has never been a company to suffer over a learning curve. The Pixel has a chance to lead the company into a lucrative position with their VR technology. Google’s list of VR phones includes:
- Nexus 6
- Pixel Phone
- Pixel XL Phone
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 3
Hewlett-Packard
- Slate 6
HTC
The big brother of mobile VR technology is the industry of game platform VR. HTC has revealed itself as a heavy hitter for VR gaming, as well of virtual reality-based professional design tools for conceptual designs and mockups. The company is primed to become the industry’s leader in mobile VR technology; however, as of yet, they are focused on perfecting their game platform virtual reality experience through the HTC Vive headset. Though their forte has been in VR gaming for the PC, through the Steam gaming platform, they have come out with several mobile smartphones that have been designed with full VR support. HTC’s VR supported phones include:
- 10 Evo
- Bolt
- Butterfly S
- Desire Eye
- One 801e
- One 802w
- One A9
- One E8
- One E9
- One E9 Plus
- One E9s
- One M8
- One M9
- One M9 Plus
- One Max 803s
- One ME
- One X9
Huawei
The VR supported phones by Huawei include:
- Ascend Mate 2
- G7 Plus
- GX8 LTE
- Honor 6
- Honor 7
- Honor 8
- Mate 8
- Mate 9
- Mate S
- Nexus 6P
- Nova
- P8
Hyundai
- Aero Plus
iNew
- V3
Infinix
- X552 ZERO 3
InFocus
The VR supported phones from InFocus include:
- Bingo 10
- Bingo 20 LTE
- Bingo 21 LTE
- IN610
iOcean
- X8
Jiayu
The Jiayu VR supported phones include:
- G4 Flagship
- G6 32GB
- S3
- S3+
Karbonn
Karbonn’s VR supported phones include:
- Quattro L52 VR
- Titanium S19
Kogan
The VR phones supported by Kogan are:
- Agora 4G
- Agora 6 Plus
Lava
- Xolo Black
LeEco
- X502
Lenovo
The VR phones supported by Lenovo are:
- IdeaPhone K910
- K4 Note
- K920 Vibe Z2 Pro
- Lemon X3 Lite
- Vibe K4
LG
LG’s VR supported phones include:
- G4
- G5
- K Series Escape 3
- K Series Phoenix 2 GoPhone
- K10
- K8
- K8V
- L5000
- Q Series Q10
- Stylus 2
- Stylus 3
- V10
- V20
- X Series X Cam
Linshof
- i8
LYF
LYF offers three VR supported phones, including:
- Earth 2
- Water 10
- Water 7
Meitu
- M4S
- M6
Meizu
Meizu’s supported VR phones include:
- M1 note
- M3 note
- M3s
- M3x
- MX5
- M575
- MX5e
- Pro 5 M576
Micromax
- E484 Canvas 6 Pro
- Yureka S TD-LTE Dual SIM
Mogu
- M5
Motorola
Motorola offers several phones that support VR, including:
- DROID Maxx
- DROID Maxx 2
- DROID Turbo XLTE
- DROID Ultra Maxx
- Moto X XT1060
- New Moto G
NTT
- DoCoMo Fujitsu Arrows
OnePlus
The 4 VR supported phones from OnePlus, are:
- 2 Global
- One A0001
- OnePlus X
- A30/ OnePlus X E1000
Opo
- Find 7 X9077 TD-LTE
- R9
- R9 Plus
Panasonic
- Panasonic Eluga I3
- Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1
Polytron
- P520 Prime 7s
QiKU
- Phone 360 F4
RIM
- BlackBerry DTEK 60
- BlackBerry Priv
Samsung
If you are holding a Samsung Galaxy and wondering if it supports VR, chances are it does. Samsung has become an industry leader in mobile VR technology development and features the largest arsenal of VR content available to any smartphone user. Samsung VR users are recommended to get a Gear VR headset, which is Samsung’s proprietary VR headset—linking up perfectly with any of the phones listed below. Samsung offers the most conclusive list of VR-supported mobile phones, including:
- Samsung Galaxy Alpha
- Samsung Galaxy Mega 2
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S4
- Samsung Galaxy S5
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Active
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Sharp
- Aquos L
Smartfren
- Andromax R2
SoftBank
- Sharp AQUOS PHONE Xx3 mini
Sony
Sony’s VR supported phones include:
- Xperia M5
- Xperia Z2
- Xperia Z2a
- Xperia Z3
- Xperia Z3+
- Xperia Z4
- Xperia Z5
Vertu
- Aster Chevron LTE
- Signature Touch for Bentley
Xiaomi
The VR phones offered by Xiaomi include:
- Redmi 1s
- Redmi 3
- Redmi 3s
- Note 1
- Note 1s
- Note 2
- Note 3
- Note 4
- Mi 4c
- Mi 4s
- Mi Note Pro
- Mi 3
- Mi 4 4G
- Mi 5
ZTE
ZTE has several VR supported phones on the market, including:
- Axon A1
- Blade S6
- Blade S7
- Blade V Plus
- Mono MO-01J
- Nubia Prague S
- Nubia Z11 Mini
- Nubia Z7 Mini
- Nubia Z9
- Small Fresh 4
- Zmax Pro
ZUK
- Z 2151 Edge
If you did not see your phone on this list, chances are that you are out of luck for virtual reality. Virtual reality uses a ton of processing power and cell phones were never originally designed for this type of usage. Remember the days when Snake was a cutting-edge game? Today, we are not only playing games, watching movies, and designing products in virtual reality we are doing so with our cellular telephones. In fact, current smartphones are more powerful than one hundred of the computers used to power the LEM for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Smartphones are modern-day supercomputers compared to what they were at the induction of the portable phone. So, if you don’t see the model that you are looking for, think about checking out some of the above-listed VR supported phones for an upgrade. However, if for any reason you are utterly convinced that your smartphone should support virtual reality content, there are a couple ways to go about testing your theory.
How to Test Your Phone for VR Support
Obviously, your phone must be one that connects to the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection. First of all, if your phone does not support an app store or apps in general, you are out of luck. Most VR apps are memory heavy so you will want to be sure that your phone has plenty of free space on the hard drive.
Download a VR App
By far the easiest and quickest way to discern whether or not your phone a will support VR is simply to download a VR app from your app store. Other than classic games like Oculus Rift, one of our favorite VR apps is Apollo 15 Moon Landing. In this VR app, users get to experience a blast off in the infamous Saturn V that took Dave Scott, James Irwin, and Al Worden to the lunar surface. If your phone can download and play this or any other VR app, then it most certainly supports VR. Strap on your VR headset and get ready to take an unforgettable ride.
Using YouTube
YouTube has a bunch of virtual reality content, which allows the viewer to experience content in a 360-degree world. If your phone has the ability to connect to the Internet, open up your browser and go to www.youtube.com. Then, search “Virtual Reality Videos” or “360 videos.” Choose one of the virtual reality 360 videos that appear in the results and voila. If the video plays, you are in business. A virtual reality video on YouTube will split into two viewing windows, corresponding to the right and left eye. Of course, you then need to insert your phone into a virtual reality headset, such as Google Cardboard, Samsung’s Gear VR, or the Daydream View.
When your headset is on your face and your VR supported phone is in place, you should have the ability to look around in 360 degrees, as well as to interact with the environment—if your headset is paired with a remote or keypad. One of our favorite YouTube virtual reality videos is Blowing Up a Postal Van. In this VR experience, viewers get to step onto the set of MythBusters just before they set off a lot of explosives sitting inside of a postal van. The 360-degree, slow-motion capture experience will have you feeling the heat without the danger and is a fantastic way to be introduced to the world of mobile phone VR.