China-based smartphone maker OnePlus has officially launched its own virtual reality headset made out of cardboard.
First announced last month, OnePlus revealed that it planned to broadcast the launch event for the upcoming OnePlus 2 launch to the world using VR, rather than a boring old video stream in your browser. To make the technology more accessible, the company also built its own fold-out cardboard mount, almost identical to Google Cardboard, letting you slide your phone inside the box and watch the screen through little eyeholes. It’s basically a low-cost alternative to something like the Oculus Rift.
The company opened a contest earlier this week, giving away 1,000 OnePlus Cardboard contraptions completely for free. But today, anyone can order a unit — and the good news is they’re still free, but you’ll have to pay for shipping. The cost will depend on where you live, but as an example if you’re in the U.S. it will set you back $5, while those in the U.K. will have to cough up £5. The units will be sent out from July 10.
OnePlus has gained a great deal of attention over the past 18 months for the One, a low-price, high-spec Android phone. The company isn’t detailing too much about its second flagship phone, the OnePlus 2, which launches on July 27, but we do know that it will sport a USB-C port, fingerprint scanner, and a Snapdragon 810 processor. More specs will be “drip fed” to the public in the weeks leading up to the launch.
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