TL;DR: What the hell is wrong with Google Daydream View? I ordered some junk VR headset from Amazon, I can still cancel the order. Any suggestions? I spent a good amount of time waiting for Daydream View from Google and now that it's finally out it's $113 in Ontario which is insanity for a piece of cloth with little technology in it and a mini controller/pointer. Then I realized that those lying garbage cans at ZTE still somehow haven't released Android 7 for my phone (Axon 7) and have been beaten to the punch by companies notorious for taking an eternity to release updates like Samsung. That means my phone is not compatible with the View yet. Even if I still wanted to wait for compatibility there's very little information available about specifics. Viewing tons of reviews, written and video, I haven't gotten many answers especially about things the reviewers mention themselves. The reviews say that it causes the Pixel/XL to overheat even giving overheating messages to shut down (one quoted a time of after 35 minutes continuous use) and they all say it drains the absolute hell out of the battery as well. But WHY? What is going on that the phone is going full blast, murdering the battery, and overheating? That's not even the end of it, reviewers also said it doesn't hold onto the head very well and requires constant re-adjustment. Reviews also stated as nicely as they could that the lenses are no good and the field of view sucks. And the cherry on top is... it's not compatible with Google Cardboard, what the hell does that even mean and why!? So with all those problems and still a lack of compatibility (**** you ZTE), I decided to look into the market of all those crappy 3rd party VR headsets. Pretty much all of them had tons of problems with a near universal problem being terrible lenses and a narrow field of view. I eventually settled on this one: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01LXTL22A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I went ahead and ordered it before making this thread because there was only 1 left and they have been supposedly selling rapidly (I don't trust the Amazon system). As soon as I ordered it, the price got jacked up to $60 CAD and it's magically in stock again. The "last one" I ordered was for $47 CAD. There should be laws against BS like this. Either way, that sure beats $113. I can still cancel the order, does anyone have any suggestions? Or any info on what's up with this crapshoot of a market or Daydream View?
I have the S7 and the Gear VR and they play together very nicely Those 3rd party VR headsets are terrible (From experience) Reason the official VR headsets work so well with the phones they were designed for, is because they use the headset sensors for the VR experience, when you buy a 3rd party headset it has to use the phones much less sensitive sensors GearVR for example connects to the MicroUSB port of the S7 when you insert the phone into the headset And they get hot / drain battery because they are doing a lot of work, rendering VR is not resource free GearVR allows you to connect an external power source, and you could mod it to stick a fan on the front for cooling the phone, but I can play for a couple hours without it overheating my S7, and battery lasts around 4 hours in VR
I have a random chinese Google cardboard VR headset (with adjustable lenses which is nice) but no button so i bought a bluetooth controller. Its fun looking at Youtube videos but its clunky to work with gets the phone hot and eats the phones battery. Proper VR headsets are definitely the way forward if you want a better experience but for a dabble into basic VR videos and apps a google cardboard compatible headset is cheap and good enough. Stick with your cheap one from amazon to see if you'll really use it then look at the more expensive proper versions if you do.
Yeah I'm aware that most 3rd party headsets don't make use of all the sensors. A big requirement for compatibility with Daydream was having a ton of sensors. But currently there's no mainstream VR headset for the Axon 7 that's compatible yet. The VR headset made for it was never sold outside of China, the only thing I know for sure is that they gave some out with some preorders in China. The Gear VR is super expensive here for what it is (last I checked $130 before shipping/taxes for a crusty old model), and only compatible with Samsung phones. Even if it didn't have some software check to deny non-Samsung phones and the hardware was fully compatible as far the inside goes, the ports on those are Micro USB 2, my phone uses USB C (3), who knows if an adapter would fit properly. As for the Daydream View, it turns out ZTE are literally the worst of the worst when it comes to updates or keeping promises; they've delayed to Android 7 from January (which is pretty much over) to "Q1" (end of March). I would have known this earlier if I checked my alternate email, I got an invite to take yet another stupid survey and jump through more hoops to get into their beta program which they stated would pick applicants on the 26th (today), meaning there's no way there'll be a January Nougat release, as was later announced. Even if I wanted to take part I really can't since not only will it be an NDA filled pain in the ass full of device monitoring and constant reporting to ZTE... but I can't without potentially bricking my phone since it's unofficially (the only method currently possible) bootloader unlocked and rooted. Even if that worked I'd lose my unlock and root. NO WAY, the phone is AIDS without unlock/root for tons of customization. According to the 9001 reviews I watched/read, even the super expensive Android headsets like the Samsung ones aren't that great when it comes to build quality, cushioning, lenses, etc. For $47 I said screw it and let my order go through, most people seem satisfied with that thing. If the reviews I've seen are anything to go by, this cheap one I ordered should actually have better build quality, especially cushioning, than the expensive stuff which is incompatible currently. For whatever reason there was no taxes on it, and I have Amazon Prime for free shipping, so it really was just $47 versus $100 + shipping + 13% tax for the Daydream View. I'm not worried about all its sensors not being used, I set some stuff to VR mode without it being in a headset to see how it handles it, it seemed smooth enough to get a pass. I was just hoping one of you guys would happen to know of a decent 3rd party headset, since all the mainstream ones are currently incompatible and will be until nearly April. At this point my biggest concern is finding content to use, then whether or not my phone is high enough resolution. It's "1440p" but AMOLED meaning it's Diamond Pentile, so in reality it's barely higher resolution than 1080p. Hopefully the subpixels won't be too obvious.
Yea I'm reading that the Daydream isn't great without the Nougat API, it works but has problems such as the power button being pressed by the headset, but apparently Daydream will disable that button once Nougat arrives I guess there will be better and worse 3rd party headsets, but they'll all just come down to build quality and comfort as they have no sensors, so I imagine the experience will be pretty similar between them other than how they feel on your head / lens quality etc The GearVR build quality is fine, not sure what you've been reading, but I own the original "crusty old model" and it's superb (Only £40~ from amazon, cheaper for used ones), extremely smooth and I'm comparing it against my brothers HTC Vive, very light, very comfortable, the only thing that p1sses me off about it is the lens fogging, but that affects all VR headsets (Temperature of the lenses being lower than the heat from your head steams them up until they match your body temp) The latest GearVR headset comes with USB-C connectors and MicroUSB http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12343650/samsung-gear-vr-usb-c-touchpad-update-price-announced You can use an app called SideloadVR to use it with non Oculus apps (Disable the Oculus home from loading when you connect your Samsung) so I don't see why you couldn't use it for another phone, although again it would only be a headset and lenses, no sensors unless someone figured out a hack http://sideloadvr.com/
I appreciate the info. I had read that when a phone is plugged into the Gear VR it confirms whether or not it's a Samsung phone and only works with those. I don't know if that was one specific model or what but I don't know if it's true. As for fogging, funnily enough that's the ONE issue that my garbage BlitzWolf V3 headset didn't have a problem with, I had zero fogging. It had every other problem, but fog wasn't one of them. I'm looking into the 2016 Gear VR now to see if it's compatible with any phone and if I can buy it for less than a left nut. On Amazon it's $115, and has tax making it $130, I have "free" Prime shipping. Ouch, that's pretty expensive for a piece of plastic and a DRM chip. Edit: Doesn't seem like it'll work -
Yea the GearVR will only 'work' with Samsung phones, but it will work as any other dumb headset if you can get your phone to fit, you just won't have the use of the headsets sensors The fogging happens when there is no airflow at all next to the lenses (Maybe your BlitzWolf had enough airflow?), people have modded their Gears by adding small fans inside the lens cavity, I have a small USB desk fan I connect to the PC and just point it at my face while I'm playing, when it fogs I lift the front of the Gear up to allow some air in, then back down again, rinse and repeat until the lenses warm up Think I'm gonna mod mine too though, it's a PITA especially if you're not near a fan for the first 15~ mins you're playing Yea I was just thinking if you were looking for a good quality 'dumb' headset, the new Gear would probably be fine so long as the phone fit, and having USB-C connector the connection wouldn't be an issue, just a simple matter of size Unfortunately for a proper VR experience you have no option but to wait for Nougat so you can use the Daydream sensors, it is literately worlds apart in terms of performance and experience compared to using the phone sensors once you have full use of the headsets sensors Not to mention, the Gear puts my S7 display into low persistence mode giving just about no lag so when you move your head, the VR world moves as the real world would eliminating sickness - low persistence mode can be activated without the headset, so I wonder if it can also for your phone without the Daydream (If it uses that)
Looks like your Axon 7 has received the Nougat 7.1.1 update http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/16/zte-axon-7-gets-android-7-1-1-nougat-ota-update/
I'm aware, thanks, but unfortunately until a custom update package is made I can't update since my bootloader is unlocked. The difference in files makes it so I can't install the 7.1.1 over-the-air update. I am on Android 7.0 though, which on the Axon 7 has been a buggy unmitigated disaster which cripples battery life as well. I bought the Google Daydream View and... what a useless piece of crap. Absolute garbage. It heats my phone's battery to 48C+ in under half an hour, that's massively degrading to the battery. Daydream itself is ultra buggy and a massive headache. As you can guess I called Amazon to return it. I requested a shipping label to be mailed, since my printer committed suicide rather than see another moment of the Daydream View in action, but haven't received one yet. I hope I'm not given trouble on the return since it is a 3rd party seller's item shipped by Amazon. Battery exploding heat and rage inducing garbage software aside (the cons list would be endless), getting to what the actual thing is like physically: Cons: - Garbage plastic lenses which reviewers falsely say are glass. - Lenses aren't adjustable in any way, doesn't work for your eyes? Too bad! - The strap is a dumb design and doesn't hold onto the head properly at all. - The way it's supposed to hold down the phone presses down on my phone's power button. Daydream disables the power button in VR mode to counter this, but it fails sometimes. - It's flimsy plastic and cloth that can easily get dirt and is difficult to clean. - It's designed for some kind of Neanderthal nose, it could literally fit the volume of 3 or more of my noses into that space. As a result, light leaks in from the nose area. - Design causes even more heat build-up. Pros: - The bluetooth remote works without being rage inducing, and is not uncomfortable to hold. I guess that might be more neutral but the remote is really the only "good" thing about it. Edit: One of the XDA forum regular already posted the files and instructions to update to 7.1.1, it was a slow installation (scared me for a bit since it took what felt like 10 minutes and there was no progress indicator), but it's done. Woo! Finally not on an outdated Android version that lacks security patches. Security patch March 1 2017, about damn time. Now I just have to wait 3 days for my apps/settings to finish importing to restore everything.
