Freefly VR headset has been popular among consumers even after having one or two minor setbacks. I was initially skeptical about this VR headset being any good in comparison to the Samsung Gear VR but after a lot of observation and research on it, I have finally come up with a detailed Freefly VR headset review. Without any further ado, let’s get started:
Table of Contents
Specifications:
FOV: 120 degrees
Phone screen size: 4.7-6 inches
Phone compatibility: It is compatible with any phone having Gyro and with a screen size varying between 4.7-6 inches.
Warranty: 1-year warranty
Best Buy: www.amazon.com
What I liked about the headset
1. It does have a nice cushioning and the nose area where most Chinese headsets offer discomfort, well in this one it is pretty good and you won’t hurt your nose which is a common occurrence with the Chinese headsets.
2. The phone needs to be inserted in the headset by pushing a button which releases the wings and pulling the front latch down that opens up the cover of the headset.Phones of sizes from 4.7 to 5.7 inches can easily fit in the headset.
3. The field of view here is promised to be 120 degrees and when used practically it provides a slightly lower field of view that the Samsung Gear VR. Even then, it is not a deal breaker as it does give an immersive experience.
4. It does have lenses of focal length 42 mm and they are good quality lenses and there is nothing inferior when it comes to the quality of the lenses.
5. The weight of this headset is kind of closer to the face and hence making it much more comfortable to wear for longer period of times.The overall weight of the headset is less than the Samsung Gear VR and it is more comfortable to use.
6. The Freefly VR is compatible with both android and iPhones, and all you need to do is download content from the Freefly website to get started with the VR experience.
7. It does come with a nice little Bluetooth controller and it is useful for navigation or while playing games.This inclusion of the controller can let you play games from other VR apps as well and increasing the overall content available on this headset.
What I did not like about the product
1. It fogs up pretty quick, this maybe because of the design of the VR headset or any other issue but it does fog up very soon. However, I have discovered a few hacks to combat this problem(click here), so that makes this issue not a major pitfall for the Freefly VR.
2. There are no individual adjusters to adjust the interpupillary(eye gap) distance as you can in the other VR headsets. Although you can slide the viewing chamber to make a few adjustments.
Content on the Freefly VR
The content for the Freefly VR is really great, I think it comes next after the Merge VR where you can find so much of good and original content for both the android phones and iPhones.
Initially, I was a little skeptical about the Freefly VR headset but going through the various VR content that it has to offer, I’m pretty sure anyone would feel tempted to try on this VR headset.`
It has a great collection of 360 videos, games compatible with android and iPhone and you can even play Google Cardboard games on it, with the help of the Bluetooth controller.`
A few of the experiences and games that are offered by the Freefly VR include:
`Though it does not have a magnetic trigger for the cardboard app, most of the games can be played using the Bluetooth controller which comes along with the headset. There are tons of great content that are compatible with the Google Cardboard and can be used along with other VR headsets as well.
This gives every VR headset owner more content to use with their respective VR headsets. There have been a few issues with the controller that comes along with the Freefly VR headset, so you better have a Bluetooth controller that pairs well with your phone or you could choose one from the recommendations we have for the Best controller for Samsung Gear VR.
Guide to setup the FreeflyVR
This video provides detailed steps on how you can use the Freefly VR and how you need to position your phone and other specs. They also mention the various apps that can be used with android and iPhones which will give you more insight on what exactly the Freefly VR headset has to offer.
Freefly VR remote not Working?
This is a problem that I have been seeing on a few Reddit forums, however, the glide controller that comes along with the Freefly VR headset seems to work pretty fine in most of the cases but there have been a few controllers that do not work at all! In such a case you either exchange the VR headset for a brand new one or if you have any Bluetooth controller try using it.
The headset would be no good without a great controller so it is really important that the glide controller that you get along with your Freefly VR headset works without any issues. I have a Bluetooth controller just in case things go wrong but they did not in the case of Freefly VR.
There have been a few users complaining about the glide controller and that is the reason I thought it is important to let you guys know that they are very random and in the case, you get a defective controller then feel free to get the VR headset exchanged for a brand new one.
It does come with a warranty so there is no reason that you should not trust the quality of the VR headset. This is one of the VR headsets that I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in gettting a great quality VR experience.
Conclusion
The Freefly VR headset is definitely better than the basic Chinese VR headsets and actually does way better than them too. From this detailed Freefly VR headset review, you may have gotten an idea of all the minor setbacks that you could possibly face after getting this VR headset for yourself.
I had my initial favorites as the Merge VR and the Gear VR but if these two options do not convince you then the Freefly VR might be your next stop. I really liked this headset for the field of view and at times a few apps were really immersive. It is a good buy for the price you pay.
Comparing it with the Noon VR, I think the Noon VR might feel more of a premium quality headset but just because of lack of content the Freefly VR headset is much better than the Noon VR. Freefly VR has many plus points and is definitely going to be one of my Top 5 VR headsets for iPhones.
DO check it out on amazon and let me know how you like it, for further questions leave it in the comment section below and I would be happy to help.
Have you tried the Freefly VR headset yet?
Let us know your experiences in the comment section below!
I think this VR is within my entry budget.
120 degrees view is something that is better than the original Samsung VR gear.
Do you notice any different in the resolution? I mean comparing this with the high end VR gear?
If not that different, I will think this is the best value for money item.
Hey
The resolution mainly depends on your phone and in case of the Gear VR the resolution is nice because of the devices that are compatible with them have really awesome resolution.I hope you are clear on this now.
Great info on Freefly VR headset. I really never thought about using a phone for VR. It really is a great idea. I know you talked about the screen size of the phone, but I am guessing it is compatible with any phone available as long as it meets those specified screen sizes and it has the Gyro capability. Is that correct?
Marc
Yes marc, the screen size and the Gyro compatibility needs to be met and you can use the Freefly VR headset soon after these two conditions are met.
I hope this helped 🙂
This really caught my eye, virtual reality is so underrated at the moment the possibility’s that can can be achieved with this and this article really brings a lot of factors into light, the free-fly VR headset seems very durable and compatible with most devises i would use, i can see many people thinking about possibility of owning on of these high tech goggles.
This is a moderately priced goggles and it has a great feature/price balance. I think it is a great device to get started with smartphones VR.
very nice site my son would really like one of these he is into gaming big time
Hope I see you around, sharing your experience on using the Headset 🙂
Well this definitely seems interesting, but I always thought that an vr headset would be very easy to fog up, which is why I sometimes wonder how effective they are at actually capturing the feel of a first person virtual reality. (though personally I’m more interested in one that directly links to the brain like the one mentioned in the video ha ha)
I know Jaylin! That brain thing she says is actually funny, even when I saw it I was like what is happening now 😛
I have mentioned a few hacks where you can actually overcome the” typical heating up of the phone” in a VR headset and I think that even deals with the fogging issue.
I had this issue with Samsung Gear VR where the phones got hot real quick and as we all know Samsung phones are known for this quality , so learnt some common hacks to overcome overheating issues in the VR headset.
Hey,
I just checked out your page,
Really like that you share your personal expierence, it means that you are sure about this product and this is very valuable info. It’s very detailed, with pros and cons. And it helps a lot that you also include the things that you didn’t like, for me as a customer, it’s very useful.
Keep up the great work!
I’m glad that I could help you 🙂
This is nice to see something different. I usually only see things about the oculus rift or the htc vive. I didn’t even know that there were other products out there so seeing this is rejuvenating. The fact that it is only $70 is also a big thing to see. It’s crazy that people can make and deliver something this amazing for such a low price
I agree with you Ryan.There has been a lot of hype about these PC VR headsets and that really takes our minds off what we have in the smartphone VR section.
The Smartphone VR headsets are way better as of now because they are inexpensive compared to the mighty rift and they are actually pretty close to the VR concept even though they are not as effective as the PC ones but still one cannot underestimate the beauty of these headsets 🙂
The most exciting part was when Samsung Gear VR got its price down to $60, that was really amazing !!!
Great review of the Freefly VR headset. I’ll admit that before I read this, I had not heard of Freefly. Now I haven’t tried any of the VR headsets yet, but I’m definitely getting interested in them and I just might look into this one. The price of the Freefly VR headset is not bad at all and not much more than the price of a brand new video game. Thanks for posting this.
Yeah Brian,
I feel that smartphone gaming is slowly coming at par with the video games that we have and now with the Smartphone VR technology, you can get a better taste of VR rather than spending on the expensive PC VR headsets.
Hello Shrey
I have been always intrigued about the Vr technology. But I have to admit that the prices are really high for these devices. However, checking your site I discover this Freefly VR headset and the price of this device, adjust to my budget. So now I don’t have any more excuses for not trying VR!.
Thank you for the info, great work.
Ruben
Hi Ruben,
Glad you liked it and hope you have an amazing VR experience.
Hi Shrey,
Good review of this VR headset. AS an architect we are starting to use this sort of technology more and more in our line of work. (Personally I think this sort of VR experience is a totally adequate option for the average user than some of the more expensive immersive experiences we see like “The Cave”)
Can you import your own 3D files (eg from ArchiCAD) into a Freefly viewable format ?
If you can view your files from ArchiCAD in you phone as a video, then there should be no issues in viewing it in the Freefly VR headset.To be clear, it is the phone that plays the videos through an app, the Freefly VR headset is just trying to project that into the VR world so you just need to download an app which let’s you play your phone videos in the VR format which is pretty much available online.
Hey, I’m a total noob in VR but would like to experience it myself. Normally I’m warry of chinese products but this really seems like a nice VR headset for its price and warranty. Only thing I got to ask is does this VR headset cause nausea? As I am get carsick pretty quickly, and it would be a lttle stupid buying something that you can’t enjoy.
Thanks in advance!
The motion sickness really depends on the game and how long you use the VR headset. Taking frequent breaks might help. You can avoid motion sickness but that should not be the reason that you don’t have some VR!
haven’t dabbled with VR since the mid 1990s, so I was wondering how much the technology had advanced since then. Thanks to this and other reviews, I think I just might jump in. I don’t think I will go with the phone based headsets, and go with the PC based version. Thanks for the review!
I’m glad that I could help you!