Introduction
Virtual Reality, Mixed & Augmented reality has become more popular over the past few decades. This is mostly attributed to its novelty in the experience you receive from these hardware. The experiences made by these technologies either tries to resemble reality as it is or combine the interfaces and experiences of the digital and physical world. Due to the technology and experiences these devices make, game developers have tried to make use of them to create a much more immersive gaming experience. However, these technologies has not seen the meteoric rise people expected them to have. In my opinion, one of the reasons for it is the Accessibility and Quality of these devices. Let’s understand this more by diving into some of the best VR, MR and AR devices currently in offer today. We will be scrutinizing them based on the Build Quality and Experience (Deg of Freedom, Field of View, Resolution, Refresh Rate, Build Quality) they offer and their accessibility to the masses. Accessibility may have many factors, however we’ll be looking at Price (& Target Market), Minimum Requirements and Ease of Use/Mobility.
The Devices
Virtual Reality
Quality & Build
| Oculus Quest 2 | HTC Vive Cosmos | Valve Index | |
| Weight | 499g | 702g | 810g |
| Resolution (per eye) | 1832×1920px | 1080×1200px | 1440×1600 px |
| Refresh Rate | 72Hz | 90 Hz | 144 Hz |
| DOF | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| FOV | 100° | 110° | 130° |
Accessibility
| Oculus Quest 2 | HTC Vive Cosmos | Valve Index | |
| Price (SGD) | $431 | $1,229 | $1327 |
| Target Market | Consumers | Consumers | Consumers |
| Min. Requirements | CPU: Intel ® Core™ i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater GPU : NVIDIA ® GeForce ® 970 / AMD Radeon™ 400 Series or better or None. | CPU: Intel ® Core™ i5-4590 or AMD FX™ 8350 equivalent or better. GPU: NVIDIA ® GeForce ® GTX 970 4GB, AMD Radeon™ R9 290 4GB equivalent or better | CPU: Dual Core with Hyper-Threading. GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD RX480. |
| Ease of Use/Mobility | Wireless/Wired | Wired | Wired |
VR Pick: Oculus Quest 2 (Analysis)
My pick for my favourite VR headset is the Oculus Quest 2. The reason for that is due to its strengths over its competitors. I’ve mentioned that having wide accessibility and good quality are reasons for headsets to be adopted by the masses.
Clearly, the Oculus Quest has achieved that by being accessible through a competitive price of just $431. Buyers do not even need to buy or upgrade their PCs so as to enjoy the experience of VR. As with regards to quality, even though the Oculus Quest has lesser FOV, users will still find it enjoyable due to their higher screen resolution and lightweight. The added bonus to the Oculus is that it is fully wireless since you do not need a PC either.
Its price competitiveness and comfortable user experience is what made me pick Oculus Quest 2. The idea that you could just jump into a virtual world without any restrictions and discomfort is what makes this device so much more compelling. Below is a demo of the device itself.
Mixed Reality
Quality & Build
| Microsoft Hololens 2 | Magic Leap One | |
| Weight | 566g | 454g |
| Resolution (per eye) | 2048 x 1080 px | 1280 x 960 px |
| Refresh Rate | 240Hz | 60 Hz |
| DOF | 6 | 6 |
| FOV | 43°x 29° | 40° x 30° |
Accessibility
| Microsoft Hololens 2 | Magic Leap One | |
| Price (SGD) | $5,388 | $3049 |
| Target Market | Professionals | Professionals |
| Min. Requirements | – | – |
| Ease of Use/Mobility | Wireless | Wireless |
MR Pick: Microsoft Hololens 2
The choice for this MR headset is picked with different factors in mind compared to the VR headset. The reason for that is that the VR headsets at the moment are mostly targeted at consumers, for the masses whereas, the market for MR headsets currently are for professionals.
From the tables above we can see that even though Hololens 2 is priced much higher, it is worth noting that their specifications in resolution and FOV is higher. Although its weight is heavier, Professionals will care more about the resolution and field of view as it can directly affect their work more. The clearer their view, the finer the details of the elements they can interact with. Hence the clarity for work and collaboration is what made me pick the Hololens 2. Below is the demo for the device.