Homido V2 Review – Features, Performance, Pros and Cons
If you didn’t already know, virtual reality is rising in popularity among the gaming community. What VR headsets do is essentially immerse you into a 360-degree world. There are many consoles and companies that make such headsets, but they can often be too expensive.
For anyone who enjoys a mobile VR experience, the Homido V2 stands as a somewhat cheaper alternative to more pricey headsets. In this Homido V2 review, we’ll be going over its features, overall performance, and pros and cons.
Homido V2 Features
The Good
The Bad
About the Homido V2 Headset
Homido V2 Review – Design
The whole headset itself weighs around 15 pounds (before placing your phone in the tray) and measures out to be 21.1 by 21.5 by 16.7 inches. You’re able to wear the Homido V2 for a little more than a couple of hours without experiencing fatigue. Because the construction is sturdy, it’s not likely that you’ll have to worry about it breaking if you accidentally bump it against objects.
Although the high-quality lenses give you a clear view, the field of view isn’t that wide, especially with the iPhone 6/7. Luckily, the lenses don’t fog up too much because of the well-positioned nose gap and ventilation. To ensure you won’t get sore cheeks, the facepad is said to be pretty comfortable considering it’s made of soft memory foam.
The adjustable headstrap makes the headset able to fit on virtually anyone. The semi-transparent hatch has a magnet to easily open and close it. The headset’s tray is able to fit 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone models as well as the iPhone 6 and 7 (including 6 and 7 plus). With the nifty carrying case, the headset is portable enough to take anywhere.
A cool little bonus in the headset is that there’s a slight gap to slide your charger cable through. This makes it so that you can charge your phone while it’s still in the headset, but it’s not recommended to use the headset as you’re charging your phone. It might get a bit warm in there.
Homido V2 Review – Visual Performance
The Homido V2 has plenty of smart applications to enhance your immersive and visual experience. It allows you to watch films in 3D with a side-by-side format. You can also stream videos straight from YouTube for your Android or iPhone using the Homido Player app.
To adjust the distance between lenses, you can use the focus dial on top of the headset and the slider towards the bottom. The lenses area great in giving you clarity as you watch videos or play mobile VR games, but the field of view isn’t that wide, especially if you’re using smaller smartphones.
There’s also a slight blurring around the edges of the lenses because the camera needs to distort the view in order to achieve the field of view. Although, this doesn’t affect the visual quality all too much.
If you usually wear glasses, you’re out of luck if you plan to have them on as you use the headset. Most wide frame glasses may cause problems with the facepad, but you can always adjust the lenses to accommodate your eyesight.
Homido V2 Review – Audio Performance
It should be pointed out that the Homido V2 doesn’t come with built in headphones. But, you’re able to plug in any headphones you’d like whether they’re wired or connected by Bluetooth.
The audio quality itself is completely phone dependent. This means that it should be no better or worse than when you plug in or wirelessly connect your headphones to your smartphone without the headset.
Gaming on the Homido V2
There has been a lot more gaming content released after the original Homido headset was made. Aside from games that come from the official app for Homido, there are additionally plenty of android apps to try out. The Google Cardboard app also has games that are compatible with the headset and grow in new games constantly.
To play most of these games, you need a Bluetooth controller. On the Homido website, you can purchase either a mini Bluetooth controller or a regular sized one.
Controllers
The mini gamepad is designed for Android smartphones only and can give you access to all the VR games and apps available. The size of the controller measures out to be 73 x 31 x 13 mm and its Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity ranges from 2-10 meters. It’s small enough to put in your pocket so you can play anywhere you go.
Image: Engadget
As for the regular sized controller, it’s also only for Android smartphones and is compatible with any game from the Homido Center application. Its size measures out to be 150 x 100 x 63 mm with a Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity that ranges from 2-10 meters. Its battery life lasts around 10 hours on a full charge.
Summing Up
Overall, the Homido V2 is a rather comfortable headset that offers an immersive experience for any user. It’s compatible with almost any smartphone and allows you to adjust the lenses to fully enjoy movies or games.
Although headsets like the Samsung Gear VR are a bit cheaper, this Homido V2 review points out the compatible flexibility of the headset which makes it a more optimal choice. You can pass the time for at least a couple hours with the new and improved Homido V2, successor of the original Homido VR.