Being an avid fan of VR myself, I had the chance to grab an Oculus Quest headset a few months after it was released. Watching the videos of what the Youtubers are experiencing with such an affordable and mobile headset opened the floodgates to many, which received one for their Christmas holidays. The key factor that drew me towards this headset was the lack of the need to have a powerful PC with a GPU as all the required hardware is inbuilt. This reduced the total overall cost and increased accessibility dramatically. Before the Oculus Quest, most headsets required tethering to the PC, and that restricted mobility of the device. Certain devices also required other background-position trackers, which limited use to a single room. However, the tethered devices do have their strengths as they are able to display much higher quality backgrounds for an improved user experience. Let’s look at the breakdown of a few of the most popular devices in the market right now.
Popular VR Devices in the Market:
| Oculus Quest 2 | Oculus Rift S | HTC Vive Cosmos | Valve Index | |
| Positional Tracking | Inside-Out | Inside-Out | Inside-Out | LightHouse System (Outside-In) |
| Max Resolution | 1832 x 1920 | 1280 x 1440 | 1440 x 1700 | 1440 x 1600 |
| FOV | 100 degrees | 110 degrees | 110 degrees | 130 degrees |
| Refresh Rate | 72/90 Hz | 80Hz | 90Hz | 80/90/120/144 Hz |
| Tethering | Optional | Required | Required | Required |
| Price (USD) | $299 | $399 | $699 | $999 (complete) $499(headset only) |
My Choice: Oculus Quest 2
Based on my experience with the Oculus Quest, I will gladly choose the Oculus Quest 2. Being not tethered to a PC is a huge plus and enables so many more people to open the door to VR experience. The price alone was also decreased to $299, making it more affordable to the masses. Even though there are more high-end devices that are in the market, I feel that if I will design an experience, I will do it on the console that has the highest uptake among the population.
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My first experience of mixed reality is at a tech conference, where I first tried on the Microsoft Hololens. The product presentation opened my eyes to the possibilities that presentations in the future can be conducted on a tabletop, and 3D topography will no longer be as complicated and can be easily visualized. As I was still in the military at that time, the most obvious use case was to have an interactive map on a desktop to easily plant outposts and plan for missions.
Breakdown of Mixed Reality Headsets:
| Microsoft Hololens 2 | Magic Leap One | |
| Eye Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Max Resolution | 2480 x 1080 | 1280 x 960 |
| FOV | 43 x 29 degrees | 40 x 30 degrees |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz | 60Hz |
| Price (USD) | $3500 | $2295 |
My Choice: Microsoft Hololens 2
Comparing these 2 devices that are dedicated for Mixed Reality, it is clear that they are targeted at professionals due to the relatively high sticker price. For consumers, it is still possible to experience mixed reality through traditional VR devices, such as the Oculus Quest, as it has cameras mounted on the outside, albeit at reduced accuracy (at the moment) and a solo experience.
The experience that Microsoft Hololens provided enables multiple people to interact with a similar object on the table at the same time. This key feature is the one that draws me towards it, along with the better design as compared to Magic Leap, in my opinion. Being able to have a shared experience with others enables teamwork on the same tasks.