Check Your Phone’s VR Capability With VRMark For Android
UL Benchmarks (formerly Futuremark) today introduced a mobile version of its VRMark performance analysis tool, which enables you to compare the VR capability of Android smartphones. Like its PC counterpart, VRMark for Android offers tests for multiple performance tiers and use cases.
The first test is called the Indigo Room, which is a lightweight test that mimics the typical workload of current-generation mobile VR software. UL Benchmarks said it designed the test to “run comfortably for long periods on first-generation Daydream devices,” which would include the original Google Pixel and Motorola’s Moto Z.
The second test, dubbed the Purple Room, will push your smartphone to its limits and could cause some phones to overheat and lose performance after more than one pass. The Purple Room test is also meant for first-generation Daydream devices.
The final test is the Amber Room, and it is the most demanding of the three. If your phone handles the first two tests with ease, this one should bring it to its knees. UL said the Amber Room is a “forward-looking test that represents next-generation mobile VR content.”
In addition to the three test rooms, VRMark for Android also offers three test modes, including Peak Mode, which evaluates performance over a short period, and Sustained Mode, which measures a device's ability to maintain performance for long periods. VRMark for Android also includes Experience Mode, which allows you to see the benchmark in action through a VR headset.
UL Benchmarks is offering two versions of VRMark for Android. There’s a Professional Edition of the app that features all three benchmarks with all three test modes available for each. The pro version also lets you set custom test lengths, and it reports estimated remaining battery life in Sustained Mode.
The personal version of the VRMark for Android app is free to use, but it doesn’t include the full gamut of testing options found in the Professional Edition. The free test allows you to run the Peak Performance test in the Amber Room, and a sustained performance test over 10 loops in the Purple Room. You can sample the Indigo Room in Experience Mode, but the benchmark test is reserved for the professional edition.
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VRMark for Android is available today in the Google Play store. For more information, or to request the Professional Edition version of the app, visit the UL Benchmarks website.
Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.