Viewmaster VR Deluxe

So many of us played with a View Master when we were kids, looking at 3D pictures of dinosaurs or Star Wars stills. In a way View Master toys were a kind of simple VR. So it’s only fitting that the brand produces a something to compete in the mobile VR space.

Mattel have used their wealth of experience in making durable plastic objects to craft one of the slickest-looking mobile smartphone HMDs on the market.

This deluxe model is actually a second attempt at making a mobile HMD case. The first model was notorious for popping open when you didn’t want it to, potentially dropping your expensive phone on the floor.

The Deluxe solves this issue in a definitive way and has a secure mechanism that stands up to normal daily abuse.

The Deluxe also has a clear stereo audio extender cable that lets you connect headphones to the outside of the viewer.

View Master have of course produced quite a lot of content for their HMD, but there is no reason why many other Cardboard-centric apps won’t work just as well. Unfortunately there’s no headstrap, so much like the base Google Cardboard this is a “hands-on” experience.

The clamp mechanism inside the View Master can accommodate larger phones with some people having success with models like the iPhone 6s Plus. If you have a phone at the small end of the scale, they’ve also included a built-in spring-loaded adapter that will hold on tightly to those phones.