The QERY VRGO Is No Longer Available as of December 2017
REASONS TO BUY
Easy to set up
Inexpensive
REASONS TO AVOID
Mediocre comfort
Not very interactive
QERY VRGO Review
This low-cost VR headset isn't terribly impressive
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Our Verdict
Earning a relatively poor score, on the whole, the QERY VRGO is far from our favorite. It usually retails in the $20-$40 range and is the most comfortable of the headsets in this price range, but is outperformed by the Google Cardboard, which retails for even less. All in all, this might be a good pick for someone who values comfort over performance and is shopping on a shoestring budget.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The QERY is very easy to setup and is quite user-friendly, but that is about it in terms of strengths. It falls severely short when it comes to being interactive and is rather mediocre when it comes to providing a visually immersive experience.
The QERY VRGO.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Performance Comparison
To find out which headset came out on top, we bought the best products available on the market today and tested them head-to-head to find the winners.
A button on top to interact with the screen.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Interactiveness
Earning the most weight out of all of the rating metrics, our Interactiveness metric is by far the most important out of all of them. This metric consisted of assessing how you interact with each headset and the accuracy of the motion tracking. Unfortunately, the QERY did not do particularly well in this metric, earning a 2 out of 10 for its poor showing.
This model has a single button that can be used to interact with your VR environment, but that is it. It has no trackpad or hand control, somewhat limiting the level of interaction. This model also lacks any sort of hand control. The QERY will track your gaze as you look around, but does not track your motion as you walk around.
We didn't feel very immersed wearing the QERY.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Visual Immersiveness
Ranking second, our Visual Immersiveness metric accounts for 20% of the overall score. This metric took into account the overall image quality, the sharpness of the image, the field of view, as well as if the headset blocked out ambient light. The QERY improved on its performance slightly, earning a 5 out of 10.
The QERY has a somewhat reduced field of view, with the corners missing from our test image — other headsets displayed the image fully. The overall image quality is also relatively mediocre, slightly better than the Canbor and on the same level as the Bnext, but inferior to every other headset that we looked at. The resolution and sharpness of the image are dependent on the type of phone used and were quite good with the Samsung S8 that we used. However, this model also let in a fair bit of ambient light around the edge of the headset and the perimeter of the phone.
Lots of room for glasses, but can put pressure on the bridge of your nose.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Comfort
Next up, we evaluated the QERY in our comfort metric. This metric takes responsibility for 20% of the overall score and is based on how it felt to wear the headset for long periods of time, whether or not there is sufficient space to wear glasses, and if your face would become sweaty after prolonged use due to inadequate ventilation. The QERY again delivered an average performance, meriting a 5 out of 10 for its efforts.
The QERY is alright to wear for longer periods, but it can exert some pressure on the bridge of your nose, especially for those with larger noses, making it somewhat unpleasant to wear after a while. It also has the least ventilation of the bunch, constructed of a material that is not breathable at all. However, there is plenty of space for glasses.
These two sliders adjust the width of the lenses to help get you a clear picture.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
User Friendliness
Continuing a trend, the QERY earned a 5 out of 10 for this metric, again delivering an average performance. This metric takes credit for 15% of the overall score, based on the amount of effort to install the smartphone, whether you needed to take the case off of your phone, the difficulty in plugging headphones in, and whether or not you are prone to accidentally hitting buttons.
The QERY provides easy access to the headphone port of your smartphone, so there are no difficulties there. However, it is a bit of a pain to get a phone installed in the headset, requiring you perfectly place your phone without any misalignment. There is a ledge to help with this, but it is too far down to be useful with the S8 that we tested with. This ledge can also inadvertently press buttons on your phone, depending on the model. There also isn't a ton of additional room, so you most likely will need to remove your case if it adds a noticeable amount of thickness.
The QERY does have a ledge for your phone, but if your phone is slim you will need to scoot it up. Possibly resulting in some very unpleasant, out of focus screen if you don't get it straight.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Setup
Our final rating metric assessed the difficulty in completing the initial setup for each headset, focusing on both the hardware and software. We also compared the system requirements for each VR headset, awarding points for the least stringent requirements. This is the only metric that the QERY excelled in, earning a 9 out of 10. The hardware setup is extraordinarily easy, only requiring you to adjust the lenses and attach the head strap. The software setup is equally easy, only requiring you to download and install the Google Cardboard app. The QERY is also compatible with any cardboard-compatible smartphone — the largest set out of the mobile handsets.
Value
The QERY is a decent value, offering a mediocre performance at a low price.
Conclusion
The QERY usually sells for less than its $45 list price, making it reasonable option if you are searching on a tight budget. We found the Cardboard to be slightly more immersive and user-friendly, but the QERY is more comfortable, making the QERY a reasonable option if you want to spend less than $30 and place a higher priority on comfort.
—
David Wise and Austin Palmer
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