Test the VR Performance of Your Smartphone Using VRMark for Android

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The slew of new device releases with their fancy new processors and ever-changing and ever-improving specifications can often confuse consumers on how well a device is expected to perform. With the recent push in VR and AR, these changing factors can have a significant impact on the user’s mobile experience because of the intensive nature of their demands. Benchmarks can help provide some semblance in this scenario, as popular benchmarks test various aspects of a device and provide feedback on where the device is placed against its competitors.

If you would like to test how well your device can run Virtual Reality applications, you can try out VRMark. VRMark has just been released for Android, providing end users as well as industry professionals a convenient way to test the VR capabilities of a device using a comprehensive set of tools. VRMark can work with or without a headset. The VRMark Professional Edition contains the full suite of tools and is designed for industrial use. The free version of the app is for VR enthusiasts and provides a smaller set of tests for testing VR performance on an individual level.

The benchmark is designed around performance levels, which are called Rooms. A Room is a piece of VR content carefully created to require a specific level of VR performance, and the Android version of the benchmark comes with three Rooms.

The Indigo Room represents the majority of mobile VR content available today. It is a lightweight test that is designed to run comfortably for long periods on first-generation Daydream devices.

represents the majority of mobile VR content available today. It is a lightweight test that is designed to run comfortably for long periods on first-generation Daydream devices. The Purple Room is designed to run well for at least one loop on first-generation Daydream devices, but some phones will get hot when looping this test, and their performance may fall as the test runs.

is designed to run well for at least one loop on first-generation Daydream devices, but some phones will get hot when looping this test, and their performance may fall as the test runs. The Amber Room is a forward-looking test that represents next-generation mobile VR content. It is very demanding, making it an ideal benchmark for comparing devices that already perform well in the other Rooms.

VR performance can be tested in Peak Mode (for peak performance testing), Sustained Mode (for testing extended performance, including thermal and stability) and Experience Mode (for judging the quality of the VR experience manually using a headset). Experience mode works with Daydream View and Google Cardboard compatible headsets.

VRMark is compatible with ARM-based devices running Android 7.0 or later with at least 1 GB of RAM that supports OpenGL ES 3.1 or OpenGL ES 3.0 with MSAA. The app also features performance monitoring charts and an in-app list for quickly comparing performance across devices.