Zeiss Introduces the Upgraded VR One Plus Headset

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by Fabian ChaundyJune 23^rd, 2016

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The new VR One Plus headset from Zeiss builds upon their previous model, the VR One, by adding a few key features to make it even more user-friendly at an affordable price.

We have been covering the VR craze incessantly in the past few months. It was one of the hot topics at NAB, and as we have seen, many filmmakers are already embracing the new technology.

What will undoubtedly determine whether VR goes the way of 3D, however, is the ease of access that consumers and audiences require to view the content. True, you can just tap or click your way around a Facebook VR video environment, but what really makes this content come to life is the experience through a headset of some kind.

The Zeiss VR One Plus falls in the middle of the range between Google Cardboard and OCULUS Rift, and at only $129, this improved version delivers some nice features. Let’s take a look.

New Features of the VR One Plus

• The foam that comes in contact with your face is now removable. While this may seem like a small improvement, Zeiss are showing the possibilities of VR beyond just entertainment. They recently showcased a cooperation with Deutsche Bahn, in which they demonstrate how VR can be used for recruitment purposes. If VR is going to become as commonplace as we think it is, then the hygienic reasons behind removable and exchangeable face foam become fairly obvious.
• The headstrap is also removable. Most VR examples we have seen in the last months have been immersive movies or games, for which a having the headset strapped to your face seems like the most logical setup. However, there are other applications — such as certain events — where the aim is a more communal experience. In these situations, it is useful to have a removable headstrap to facilitate handing over the goggles from person to person.
• A new Universal Smartphone Tray. The original VR One already had an advantage over the similarly priced OCULUS/Samsung Gear VR in that it accepted phones from brands other than just Samsung. However, you needed a special tray for whatever phone model you were using. The VR One Plus solves this by introducing a single universal phone tray that accepts phones anywhere between 4.7 and 5.5 inches, or between the size of an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.
• You can now get access to the optics to clean them by removing part of the cover.

So, while not offering revolutionary features, the VR One Plus is certainly a more polished version of its predecessor, offering the same premium optics and comfort. VR is still very new tech, and what we are seeing is manufacturers slowly working out the kinks to make sure this is technology that actually ends up sticking around.