barbacot:

The world must be coming to an end if Apple sells something cheaper than others...

On entry level phone and with provider bonus they are less expensive than Samsung... Not every one have over 1000 Euro to put in a smart phone (same as GPU, everyone talk about top high end but most will buy entry or medium GPU.) . Also it may explain how Apple have dominate the market in end 2020, as it wasn't expected to reach and keep the 1st place in sale.

Ghosty:

Apple is over 4 years too late. While most companies have stopped bothering to make VR content, in steps Apple with a $3000 device? Hmmm.

VR is booming, Quest 2 and Half Life Alyx was the push we all needed.

Valve today shared a handful of new stats revealing the growth of VR on Steam over the course of 2020. In an 2020 year-in-review recap of Steam, Valve took note of SteamVR’s growth over the last year. The company said that Steam saw 1.7 million users experience a VR game for the first time in 2020, while SteamVR users overall jumped into more than 104 million VR sessions. Playtime increased as well, Valve said. VR sessions on Steam in 2020 have averaged 32 minutes, which the company said represents a 30% increase over the year prior. Perhaps most interestingly, the company said that VR game revenue grew by 71% on Steam in 2020, with a whopping 39% of that coming directly from Half-Life: Alyx—further cementing the game’s mark on the industry.

rl66:

On entry level phone and with provider bonus they are less expensive than Samsung... Not every one have over 1000 Euro to put in a smart phone (same as GPU, everyone talk about top high end but most will buy entry or medium GPU.) . Also it may explain how Apple have dominate the market in end 2020, as it wasn't expected to reach and keep the 1st place in sale.

I bet its a nice to get new phone as part of the contract, thats how many people can get a new iPhone every year.

3000 bucks? Cannot be, must be 30000.

Ghosty:

I was messing around with Google Daydream over 5 years ago. Pretty cool tech. It had/has major limitations compared to traditional gaming means though.

That was what became Google Cardboard? I mean, not to degrade that, using your smartphone as a VR display is cool, but the difference between that and using an actual VR headset like a Quest 2 or Index, that's just night and day. Especially considering that 5 years ago was when VR was nascent. The Quest 2 is basically Daydream realised, a powerful smartphone that becomes a VR headset that is both stand-alone and tetherable to a gaming system, or via Wifi if you've got a good enough signal strength. Yes, it has limitations in one way, sort of, I guess, you can play any game in VR via a virtual desktop app and just have a 200" screen inside that if you like. But the same way, normal gaming has limitations compared to VR.

ZXRaziel:

I am actually looking forward to this , I have been waiting for a VR set with high resolution good quality screens for years, all that I have seen so far was terrible visual experience as you can see every pixel when this close to the screen. It did not fell realistic or natural to me so I have always said I want higher resolution screen to enjoy the VR . The problem will be the GPU needed to feed such a resolution as that does not exist yet ... Even two 3090 ( one per screen ) would struggle to provide smooth experience.

Have you tried a Quest2 ? I mean, the display isn't the greatest in the world for blacks and the field of view is not nearly as next-gen as its resolution. Just the fact that the screendoor effect is reduced by 99,9% over every other headset I've seen, means that you see things so clearly and without the whole blurriness. It's just hell to actually run it at native res, but less than that is also workable, there's some good scaling going on.

I need to try my kid's new headset (Rift S). It's lighter and it uses local tracking rather than having little satellites. Screen-door effect is gone and it doesn't make your head tired. The controllers are much lighter and you can see outside of VR without taking off the headset (using the tracking cameras). That's his opinion of it after having a Rift+ before this one. For $300. If he wanted an Apple VR though, he'd have to learn how it's good to want things. Builds character.

AlmondMan:

That was what became Google Cardboard? I mean, not to degrade that, using your smartphone as a VR display is cool, but the difference between that and using an actual VR headset like a Quest 2 or Index, that's just night and day. Especially considering that 5 years ago was when VR was nascent. The Quest 2 is basically Daydream realised, a powerful smartphone that becomes a VR headset that is both stand-alone and tetherable to a gaming system, or via Wifi if you've got a good enough signal strength. Yes, it has limitations in one way, sort of, I guess, you can play any game in VR via a virtual desktop app and just have a 200" screen inside that if you like. But the same way, normal gaming has limitations compared to VR. Have you tried a Quest2 ? I mean, the display isn't the greatest in the world for blacks and the field of view is not nearly as next-gen as its resolution. Just the fact that the screendoor effect is reduced by 99,9% over every other headset I've seen, means that you see things so clearly and without the whole blurriness. It's just hell to actually run it at native res, but less than that is also workable, there's some good scaling going on.

To me VR is just a bit of fun. Something to try and experience. Google understood this too. I couldn't see myself paying full price for the complete VR experience, like the PSVR or the Oculus.

Ghosty:

To me VR is just a bit of fun. Something to try and experience. Google understood this too. I couldn't see myself paying full price for the complete VR experience, like the PSVR or the Oculus.

I wouldn't put much faith in what Google understands about everything - they aren't really known for their consisteny in most areas outside of their core business. And isn't that what gaming is? 😛 a bit of fun? A Quest 2 costs less than a mid-range GPU these days. I'm not some kind of VR afficionado, it's just a bit of fun for me too and I mainly got a Quest 2 because it was cheap, I had disposable income and I wanted to be able to experience VR things too.

AlmondMan:

I wouldn't put much faith in what Google understands about everything - they aren't really known for their consisteny in most areas outside of their core business. And isn't that what gaming is? 😛 a bit of fun? A Quest 2 costs less than a mid-range GPU these days. I'm not some kind of VR afficionado, it's just a bit of fun for me too and I mainly got a Quest 2 because it was cheap, I had disposable income and I wanted to be able to experience VR things too.

Gaming is all about different experiences, so in that respect VR is great. I wear glasses. The experience is somewhat tainted because it's not very comfortable and puts strain on my glasses.

This is how Apple markets. I bet this doesn't even see the light of day,or its being misrepresented intentionally as a gaming headset.

Ghosty:

Gaming is all about different experiences, so in that respect VR is great. I wear glasses. The experience is somewhat tainted because it's not very comfortable and puts strain on my glasses.

Ah - well, I had people in my Quest over the holidays that wear glasses - there's a "glasses spacer" that comes included that provides some space inside the device for glasses to fit better. Just information - you should give it another go sometime and experience it 🙂 it's pretty cool now with a modern title, compared to what we used to have. The space for standing experiences is certainly the most damning issue - I have to move my PC and stuff to the living room and then move half my furniture around in order to be able to use it if I want a PC experience. Can of course play games that are native to the device, but the PC ones just look so much better ...

AlmondMan:

Ah - well, I had people in my Quest over the holidays that wear glasses - there's a "glasses spacer" that comes included that provides some space inside the device for glasses to fit better. Just information - you should give it another go sometime and experience it 🙂 it's pretty cool now with a modern title, compared to what we used to have. The space for standing experiences is certainly the most damning issue - I have to move my PC and stuff to the living room and then move half my furniture around in order to be able to use it if I want a PC experience. Can of course play games that are native to the device, but the PC ones just look so much better ...

"Valve appears to be placing a temporary hold on Valve Index RMAs (return merchandise authorisation) in the UK, due to Brexit. This means customers with faulty VR headsets must wait until 'the issue' is resolved before proceeding with a return, although Valve says it is working with its distributor to mitigate further disruption".

Almond man , No I have not tried that one , I will look in to it . Thank you .

Ghosty:

"Valve appears to be placing a temporary hold on Valve Index RMAs (return merchandise authorisation) in the UK, due to Brexit. This means customers with faulty VR headsets must wait until 'the issue' is resolved before proceeding with a return, although Valve says it is working with its distributor to mitigate further disruption".

Ah Brexit. Causing endless amounts of trouble for the population. Good on ya, Tories.

AlmondMan:

Ah Brexit. Causing endless amounts of trouble for the population. Good on ya, Tories.