Xiaomi’s Vice President, Hugo Barra, in an interview with CNBC, has revealed that the company is working on a more sophisticated headset. The Mi VR Play is Xiaomi’s first VR headset and it improves upon existing entry level VR headsets by offering a more comfortable hardware. A more sophisticated version might be similar to what HTC offers with the Vive, Facebook’s Oculus Rift or Samsung’s Gear VR.

Launched about 2 weeks ago, the headset is similar to Google’s cardboard but uses zippers instead of velcro to hold the phone in place and is covered with lycra to offer more comfort. It has support for phones with screen sizes between 4.7 – 5.7 inches.

When he was asked about the success of VR in terms of projected sales, Mr. Barra said the company recorded 1 million registered buyers for the Mi VR Play in the first 8 hours the site was opened.

Other information disclosed says Xiaomi’s plan is to be an open content platform for VR in China. The company already has a number of startups making videos and games for the VR platform. So even if you are not using Xiaomi’s VR headset, you’ll still have to use their software platform to get content.

RELATED: Xiaomi Prepares for US Market Launch

The Mi VR headset is still in public beta, so there’s no price yet but last week the company sold the Mi 5 bundled with a Mi VR Play for $272, so if you were able to grab that deal, lucky for you.

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Xiaomi released their first VR glasses this week, the Xiaomi Mi VR Play. While it is not entirely different in functionality from other VR glasses most especially the Google Cardboard, it has a few design changes that still makes it  stand out such as the use of a zipper design instead of velcro to hold the phone in; and a lycra covering for a more comfortable experience.

Internet service portal, Tencent, has hands on pictures of the device which we want to examine.

What’s in The Box?

The VR headset is said to support phones with screen sizes between 4.7” and 5.7”. Xiaomi’s Mi VR Play comes in a black box, which contains the headset itself, some paper work, and the head strap.

Setting Up

Setting up seems to be quite easy. Unzip the front, place your phone on the flap, raise the flap and zip the case. You can adjust the position of your phone using the dual front openings in front which also double as vents. The headset has anti-slip strips that prevents the phone from jumping around and rubber strips that prevent accidental presses of the home button. Do attach the straps in case you are going to be using the headset for a long period.

The headset has a metal button on the top which when pressed causes a high-responsive silicone button to make direct contact with your phone, touching the corresponding field and completing the instructions sent.

One issue with the Mi VR play is the inability to adjust distance between the anti-reflective aspheric lenses to accommodate various eyes. If you however own one of those cheap VR remotes sold online, you can pair that with your phone and use that for controls as well.

Content

While the bunch of VR content available online should work with the headset, Xiaomi is working with a bunch of content providers such as Youku, QIY,  Conde nest Traveller and VR Hotcast to create content such as games and videos.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi VR Play Unveiled

Mi VR Play Availablility and Price

The VR Play is still in a beta-testing stage and will be more available when testing is finished, so if you have been waiting to purchase that denim version or the one with the camouflage design, you’ll have to wait a little longer. There’s no word on price either but while we expect it to be cheap, Xiaomi might sell certain versions like the denim and camo versions (yes, those two again) for a slightly higher price.

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Xiaomi has unveiled its expected Xiaomi Mi VR headset dubbed Mi VR Play, which utilises a cardboard box design with the basic VR principles, and VR glass lenses .

Xiaomi had taken us through a roller-coaster ride for the past few days, first teasing about a possible VR headset launch coming up on August 1. But instead, all we got on that date was a video trailer which again pointed towards an August 4th release date and here we are, with the real deal which is just a Google cardboard look-alike still in beta testing stage.

The Xiaomi Mi VR Play is actually a cardboard box before VR glasses, somewhat similar to Google’s cardboard VR headset but with better design, more durable materials and a more secured phone holder with zippers. Acccording to Xiaomi, the Mi VR Play uses VR glasses with zipper design and is covered with lycra cotton material. Also, the VR headset can be adapted to fit in smartphones with display sizes ranging from 4.7-inches to 5.7-inches. The two-way zipper takes into account the position of the smartphone inside the headset and keeps the phone firmly fixed.

Apart from the VR headset (Toy version), there’s also an accompanying VR app software which provides panoramic video, 3D movies, games and other applications.

If you’re interested in grabbing this Mi VR Play, you may have to wait a little longer as Xiaomi has not indicated when the gadget will hit the market or the price tag it’ll adopt. The Virtual Reality box is still in the beta public testing stage in China and may not go on sale soon.

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