How to turn your smartphone into a virtual reality headset-

Forget the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive Pre and PSVR - your trusty smartphone can act as your ticket to get on the virtual reality bandwagon. With the help of an
inexpensive headset (or even something you've made yourself), you can be zooming through 360-degree videos and blasting aliens out of the sky in just a

few minutes. We're still in the early days of this wave of consumer virtual reality but there's nothing here that's particularly technical or difficult to follow - if you can download and install apps on your smartphone then you can get started with VR. There's a whole world of apps and games to explore, with new content

arriving all the time. The virtual reality kit you can use with your smartphone depends on what kind of phone it is. If you've got a Samsung Galaxy phone from this year or last, for example, then the Gear VR is an obvious choice; for everyone else, some kind of Google Cardboard-inspired model or anything along similar lines will do. A retailer like Amazon has plenty of smartphone VR kits available, so look for one that matches your phone (most have compatibility lists prominently displayed). In the unlikely event that you can't find anything to match your handset, you can still use it to watch 360-degree videos on YouTube without any extra kit. While Google and Samsung paved the way for smartphone-powered virtual reality, plenty of other companies are now getting involved. Before you part with any cash, check and double-check compatibility with your current phone and read through reviews left by existing users to make sure you're not buying a dud. At this stage, you can find a basic VR headset for almost any modern phone out there - there are even options for tablets. The more expensive options out there are likely to be more comfortable and better built, and have high-quality lenses, though ultimately your phone is doing most of the grunt work.