Comparison

Mobile VR Station® vs VR42 Player

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mobile VR Station®

Immerse yourself in your media with this virtual reality media player. View photos, panoramas, and videos on a large virtual screen with head tracking. Supports 2D and 3D content, offering a customizable viewing experience for various VR headsets.

Highlights
  • Virtual screen media playback
  • Head tracking support
  • 2D and 3D content display
  • Customizable viewing profiles
  • UPNP for external content
  • Subtitle support (.srt files)
  • Bluetooth remote control
Features
Read full description

Mobile VR Station is a media player designed for Virtual Reality with head tracking. With this app you can view your Photos, Panoramas, Videos & Files projected onto a virtual screen floating in space. Our app supports displaying standard 2D and 3D Side By Side/Over Under content. The app can't display DRM protected content, such as content bought from iTunes. "The most feature-packed VR media player available, with editable profiles that let you adjust the viewing experience across multiple devices and VR adapters. Excellent all around!" -Quote from Manuel M, Beta Tester If you need help we provide links inside the app to view our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel. Usages: - Works with every headset, very flexible configuration - Watch movies in a virtual theater - Watch 3D 180 Degree content. - Explore 360/Spherical movies (Great for demos). - Experience 3D content (Left/Right, Right/Left and Top/Bottom). - See your device's photos & videos in a new way. - View panoramas with some depth. - Access external video content with UPNP. - Watch HTML5 Video from Mobile Safari with Micro VR Station extension. Details: - Native App, written in Obj-C with SceneKit - Watch App for Remote control capabalities - This app is currently only available in English - Free version limits video playback to the "first" five minutes. - Supported formats: MOV, MP4 & M4V. - Supported HMDs: None (Mono), None (SBS), Cardboard, Altergaze, Firefly, Custom, .... - Cardboard QR scanner available for quick setup - Supported Devices: Any device running iOS 8.1 can install the app, but iPhone 5S/iPad Mini (Retina) and above provide a great experience. - Projections: Dome, Full Dome, Curved (Large curve), Plane (Flat), Cylinder & Spherical - Skyboxes: 47 built in options. - Profiles: Each user/headset can have their own specific configuration. - Audio: Language switching available. - Subtitles: The app can load UTF-8 formatted *.srt files, after a movie has been started - Files: Each file has its own preview icon and meta data. You can either generate a icon or upload your own. Please see the FAQ on how to make your own icons. - Bluetooth Remote: If your headset has Play/Pause & Next/Previous buttons, you can use them to control video playback. - UPNP: Basic support for viewing & downloading video & image content. Music can play if you mess with a few settings. - Other File Formats: We are researching how other formats and higher quality content could be displayed, we understand the need and want to deliver in the future. -1080P @ 60 FPS is available on 5S+ and beyond. Devices under 5S should consume 720P. - 4K @ 30FPS is available for 6S, 6S+, 5SE & iPad Pro - Support for SanDisk™ iXpand Drives - Please see the guide book for more information Tips: - If video playback starts to lockup, or a setting doesn't stick please turn your device off and on again. - It's strongly recommended to go through Training at least once and check out the help videos if you have time. - Every projection is editable, just dig into "Manage Presets" for the details. - If you really need help, ask on our Facebook page, Twitter account, or reddit /r/iOSVR/ Controls: - MFI Controller/Bluetooth keyboard support (While in VR). - When not using a HMD device buttons can be tapped. - Tap anywhere in the right eye or empty space to recenter view. - Tap 3 fingers on screen to quickly exit VR. - Support for Occipital Bridge Controller

About

VR42 Player

Features
Read full description

VR42 Player is a straightforward and easy to use video player for stereoscopic, 360 VR videos stored on your device. Simply pick a video file from your device gallery, wait for it to be copied to the application library (this step is necessary for the video to be read by the app), or securely download VR videos as an authenticated user. You can then select the video to play from the library and enjoy your VR experience. You can also transfer video files from iTunes to the VR42Player Documents folder, and play your videos straight away. VR42 Player can conveniently replay the last video you selected as well. While the video is playing you can tap the screen to pause and resume the video. Long press on the screen to return to the main menu. By default, VR42 Player will play videos as a stereoscopic top / bottom video. You can add "_SBS" at the end of the file name (e.g. "yourvideo.mp4 will become "yourvideo_SBS.mp4") to play the video as a stereoscopic side-by-side instead.

Screenshots

Mobile VR Station®3 screens
VR42 Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: VR42 Player at none against Mobile VR Station®'s 5. VR42 Player also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 12.0). Mobile VR Station®'s advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mobile VR Station® sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. VR42 Player asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mobile VR Station® ships an update every 4 months, VR42 Player monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mobile VR Station® versus VR42 Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMobile VR Station®VR42 Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (514 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings514 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael FullerRandom42

Bugs and requests

Mobile VR Station®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play certain video files
  • Head tracking issues on some devices
  • Buffering problems when streaming content

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for 4K and higher resolution videos
  • Integrate web browser for more VR content
  • Improve file management and navigation
  • Provide better documentation and tutorials

VR42 Player

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Mobile VR Station®

One-time5
  • Micro Player - Lift Safari Extension Limit$1.99
  • Protected Drives$1.99
  • Presentation+$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Premium Edition - Remove 5 Minute Limit$2.99
  • Ultimate Edition - Everything$5.99
None

VR42 Player

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mobile VR Station® free?
Mobile VR Station® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VR42 Player free?
VR42 Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mobile VR Station® or VR42 Player have ads?
Neither Mobile VR Station® nor VR42 Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mobile VR Station® or VR42 Player?
Mobile VR Station® ships an update every 4 months, and VR42 Player monthly. Most recently, Mobile VR Station® was updated on November 1, 2026 and VR42 Player on November 2, 2026.

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