Huawei has announced its own virtual reality headset to take on Samsung's Gear VR

7 months ago

The virtual reality market, the main trend of 2016, has just seen another big name expand into the space as Huawei unveiled a VR headset of its own at an event in China.

While the top tier of virtual reality is very much the domain of the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and soon-to-launch PlayStation VR, the tier below is still seeing lots of new players emerge – Huawei being the latest with its Huawei VR headset.

Alongside Samsung’s Gear VR, LG’s recently announced 360 VR, Google Cardboard and the dozens of third-party headsets that exist, Huawei is entering a market which is already quite crowded.

In order to carve out a little more of a niche for itself, the Huawei device will have a set-up similar only to the LG 360 VR by having a dedicated screen that is powered by plugging the phone into the headset via a USB cable.

The other devices mentioned use the phone itself as a screen, slotting it into the headset.

The Huawei VR will connect exclusively to the Chinese firm’s new P9 phone via a USB-C cable, and once connected will simulate a 130-screen viewed from two metres away.

It may however not even make it to the UK, with the headset being unveiled at the Chinese launch of the P9 on Friday – Huawei has already unveiled the phone in the UK, but made no mention of the headset at that event, hinting that perhaps it will be an exclusive to its home market.