The era of ‘cheap’ virtual reality begins with this $45 headset

You can wait for Oculus or Valve to finish and ship their virtual reality platforms, or you can just strap your phone to your face for $45.

A new product called “Thumbs Up! Immerse VR Headset” (which has its own review built into the name) is hitting the market. It promises access to virtual reality almost anywhere and at any time for just $44.19. That’s because the device is just a shell that holds your smartphone. It works with both iPhone and Android devices, and it works the hundreds of apps that are already available on those platforms.

Oh, and it is totally capable of making dudes have this expression:

And really, what else do you need to know?

Well, if you gazed upon that picture and you’re still not convinced, the company has provided some other information about the product. Like the Samsung Gear VR, this headset tracks your motion using the accelerometer and other sensors built into your phone. This means you can move your head, and the screen will change your perspective to reflect that.

Immerse also promises that its device is “compatible with most” phones — although it doesn’t list specifically which ones. It also has an “ultra-wide” field of view, but again it doesn’t say exactly what that number is.

But why does this stuff matter when you can use Immerse to pretend you’re watching The Room in an empty movie theater?

If you’re worried about software support for something like this … well, you should. But not because it won’t have any games. It already has plenty thanks to the Google Play store, which already has hundreds of compatible apps. You can also use third-party markets like Wear VR, which says it has over 900 apps and games.

But a lot of the games on Google Play or Wear VR are barely more than tech demos. From what I’ve used (with the Google Cardboard visor), you can expect a buggy experience with a pretty terrible user interface.

Still, you’ll probably make a pretty goofy face while using it.