LG VR Headset Details: Free VR Accessory to G3 Buyers as Part of Promo

LG is finally putting its G3 high pixel-dense 2560 x 1440 display into good use by offering a free virtual-reality (VR) accessory for buyers of its high-end flagship smartphone.

Teaming up with Google, the South Korean electronics company will be giving away VR headset -- which is actually based on Google's Cardboard device using G3 as its screen -- for G3 buyers, CNET reported.

Chris Yie, a marketing executive at LG, explained that LG's new VR accessory will finally allow G3 phone owners to use their device for VR apps and games downloaded from the Google Play store.

"This is just the beginning of the virtual reality movement, which until recently was expensive and inaccessible to everyday consumers," Yie said in a statement, according to CNET.

LG clarified that VR for G3 headsets will be free with purchase of a G3 phone only for a limited time as part of a promotion that also includes a free version of the VR game "Robobliteration."

Like Samsung's Gear VR and Google's first Cardboard headset, LG's VR for G3 merely mounts the phone and a pair of biconvex lenses in front of your face.

The virtual reality experience, according to Gigaom, uses the device's built-in screen, sensors, and processors in conjunction with Google's software to deliver an immersive experience.

LG said its new VR accessory works with the Google Cardboard app as well as other Cardboard-compatible apps and games.

G3 also boasts of 538 pixels-per-inch screen, which actually helps when your eyes are centimeters away from the screen, Gigaom pointed out.

It also praised the product for having its sleep key mounted on the backside of the smartphone as opposed to what other smartphones have: on the right-hand side.

This means, Gigaom explained, that the button remains accessible even when the handset is mounted, showing that LG was already thinking about virtual reality even before Google Cardboard was announced.

The new headset is a way for LG to answer its long-time South Korean rival, Samsung, with a similar but no-cost virtual-reality product, CNET said.

In December, Samsung released Gear VR that uses the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as the display.

Both Samsung and LG have been looking for ways to build up smartphone sales, which have been slowing in mature markets, and could be using their VR headsets to do just that.