Utopia 360 Virtual Reality Headset Review

The Utopia 360 Virtual Reality headset comes from Emerge Technologies. They have plenty of experience in the virtual reality industry, but this headset is different from their other budget options. Utopia 360 headsets are designed with several features not seen on the brand’s previous models, but without raising the price. We wanted to see if the Utopia 360 Virtual Reality headset brings premium features to the market, so we compiled this review, looking at its specs, design, setup, controls, and more.

Utopia 360 Virtual Reality Headset: Specs

Unlike most other VR headsets in its class, the Utopia 360 Virtual Reality headset supports the use of augmented reality apps. You can see a composite image of the world around you, as well as the world on your phone, as soon as you slide down a cover in front of the device.

Newer games are beginning to incorporate this kind of design. This can make you feel like you’re really living inside of a fictional world. Some users report feeling like they were a cyborg out of a science fiction movie when using this feature. That’s high praise for such an inexpensive pair of VR goggles.

Pros and Cons

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Utopia 360 Virtual Reality Headset: Design & Requirements

One of the biggest issues with the Utopia 360 Virtual Reality headset is its compatibility with different types of smartphones. The manufacturer isn’t quite clear as to what size smartphone fits in the front dock. They’re also not completely clear as to what size phone generates what image resolution. That said, you might be disappointed if you purchase this headset without knowing for sure if it will be compatible with your phone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 users have reported difficulties fitting their devices into the display. While some have said it gets easier to insert their phone over time, this actually means that the dock is slowly loosening up. That could hint at a subtle design flaw masquerading as a feature.

Utopia 360 Virtual Reality Headset: Controls & Display

Special LucidView lenses keep the display bright at all times. This helps overcome the strange resolutions that some users experience as a result of the physical size of their device. Since this is a smartphone VR headset, the quality of the image you get depends largely on the quality of your phone’s display. Users who have new generation phones might be impressed by the image quality, while users who have older phones might (wrongly) blame the image quality on this headset.

The included controller is a bit light. However, it features eight different buttons that you can map to different tasks, depending on what kind of app you’re working with. You could hold it in one hand like a remote control when watching movies. Turn it around, and you can hold it in both hands while you’re playing a game. It feels somewhat like an older Sega controller, so you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with it if you’re a gamer.

Utopia 360 Virtual Reality Headset: Setup

You’ll probably need to install virtual reality apps before you put your mobile device into the headset’s dock. This is because it’s rather difficult to preview apps when you’re wearing it. This can be a minor annoyance, but it’s part of the setup process for most VR goggles.

Fairly basic virtual reality apps tend to be a good place to start if you need to calibrate the image. You’ll want to use something other than the default Google Cardboard animation when you set your Utopia goggles up, though, since they’re not traditional Google Cardboard clones. Once you are done with setting it up and calibrating the image, all you have to do to start using it is place your phone in the holder and press play on whatever game or video you want.

Utopia 360 Virtual Reality Headset: User Experience

Some user reviews state that the Utopia headset works exactly as advertised, which should come as great news to anyone who’d like to buy one. Other individuals had the same general impression, but said that since they aren’t gamers, they couldn’t really judge for themselves whether or not the controller worked as poorly as some people claimed.

Unfortunately, there are several complaints about it not working with certain types of devices. While problems with Apple’s iOS platform can be expected, someone people also complain that they couldn’t get it to work with their Huawei Mate 8.

Overall, users seem to be impressed by the quality of this headset if one takes into account its incredibly low price. If you expect it to work as well as some high-end VR headsets on the market, you will be disappointed. However, compared to others in its price range, it is generally worth the money.

Bottom Line

While the Utopia goggles have a few shortcomings when it comes to their configuration, they’re otherwise pretty solid. They certainly meet a price point that few other headsets can match, without cutting down on features. Beginners might like it because of this fact.

However, be prepared to put a little effort in before you use it, since you’ll need to iron out a few kinks when setting it up. Do you have any experience using the Utopia 360 virtual reality headset? We’d love to hear what you thought. We’d also be happy to answer any questions you might have for us.

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