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This iPhone Case Doubles As a Cheap and Easy VR Viewer

For those that don't want to shell out $600 for Oculus.
The Figment case (left) next to a non-VR case (right). Image: Kari Paul/Motherboard

Earlier this week, Oculus Rift announced a $600 headset for retail, outraging many because the headset combined with an Oculus-ready computer would bring the cost of experiencing virtual reality as high as $1,500. Accessory startup Quantum Bakery has been working make the technology far more accessible for a year now, with its sleek new VR iPhone case, set to sell for $60-$70.

The case, called the Figment VR viewer, is the same size and feel as a normal smartphone accessory, but pull down two buttons on the back of the device and it stealthily flips into a VR headset. The device makes VR more portable than Google Cardboard, the cheapest and most ubiquitous VR viewer at the moment, and certainly more accessible than a Rift.

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Figment and its accompanying app for iPhone (the case only fits iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for now), which aggregates VR content for easy accessibility, is meant to seamlessly mix VR into daily conversation. Talking about Star Wars? Open the app, search for a recent virtual Star Wars video, and flip open the viewer in seconds.

"It's not very intrusive; it's casual," CEO Zi Wang said. "VR needs to be somewhat casual and less of a process. If I asked you to put on a full Oculus right now in our conversation, it would be pretty uncomfortable. Something like this eliminates the social stigma."

Wang is the first to admit it isn't the most immersive VR: Certainly if you pay the $600 for Oculus, strap it on, and watch a game built specifically for the device, you'll have a heightened experience. But for day-to-day use, Figment looked pretty good.

Aside from to the obvious draw of VR capabilities, the case also works as a stand for phones, and comes in black and white. The Kickstarter for Figment VR launched in November and reached its funding goals in nearly 24 hours. The Kickstarter cases are set to be shipped out in the next few months, and it will be ready for mass retail by May 2016.