Virtual reality is here. Well, it's here in the sense that all of the big names in VR have launched or are very close to launching their VR platforms. Whether it's here for good as an established and widely accepted product category remains to be seen. VR is a fascinating way to put you somewhere else through the power of technology, using a headset and motion tracking to let you look around a virtual space as if you are actually there. It's also been a promising technology for decades that's never truly caught on.
That could change with the current wave of VR. Oculus has released the consumer-ready Rift, HTC and Valve have put out the Steam-friendly Vive, Sony has finally launched the PlayStation VR, Samsung continues to incrementally improve its Gear VR, and Google's getting ready to let its Daydream platform emerge like a butterfly from its Cardboard coccoon. There are a lot of promising headsets across a lot of different price and power spectrums. Let's look at what they cover.
The Big Question: Tethered or Mobile
Modern VR headsets fit under one of two categories: Mobile or tethered. Mobile headsets are shells with lenses into which you place your smartphone. The lenses separate the screen into two images for your eyes, turning your smartphone into a VR device. Mobile headsets like the Samsung Gear VR and the upcoming Google Daydream View are inexpensive at $100 or less, and because all of the processing is done on your phone, you don't need to connect any wires to the headset. However, because phones aren't designed specifically for VR, they can't offer the best picture even with special lenses, and they're notably underpowered compared with PC- or game console-based VR.
Tethered headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR are physically connected to PCs (or in the case of the PS VR, a PlayStation 4). The cable makes them a bit unwieldy, but putting all of the actual video processing in a box you don't need to directly strap to your face means your VR experience can be a lot more complex. The use of a dedicated display in the headset instead of your smartphone, as well as the use of built-in motion sensors and an external camera tracker drastically improves both image fidelity and head tracking.
The trade-off, besides the clunky cables, is the price. The least expensive option is the PS VR at $400, and it requires additional accessories on top of that to work its best. The Oculus Rift is $600, but it only comes with a simple remote and an Xbox One gamepad; it'll be another $200 for motion controls when the Oculus Touch controllers come out. And while the HTC Vive is the most comprehensive package, it's also the most expensive at $800. And that's before you address the processing issue; the Rift and the Vive both need pretty powerful PCs to run, while the PS VR requires a PlayStation 4.
Sony PlayStation VR
Sony's PlayStation VR is our current Editors' Choice for virtual reality, offering the most polished and easy-to-use tethered VR experience with a relatively reasonable price tag. You can only play proprietary titles on it, but a theater mode lets you play any PS4 game as if you were sitting in front of a large screen, and the VR games we've tried have impressed us. Like the Rift, it also requires an additional investment for full functionality; you need a PlayStation Camera for the headset to work at all, and a PlayStation Move controller bundle for motion controls. Still, for a $400 headset, that means the total is still less than the price of the Rift.
HTC Vive/SteamVR
HTC's Vive is a comprehensive package that includes a headset, two motion controllers, and two base stations for defining a "whole-room" VR area. It's technically impressive, and is the only VR system that tracks your movements in a 10-foot cube instead of from your seat. It also includes a set of motion controllers more advanced than the PlayStation Move. But that $800 price tag is pretty hard to get past, and PC-tethered VR systems like the Vive need plenty of power, with HTC recommending at least an Intel Core i5-4590 CPU and a GeForce GTX 970 GPU.
Oculus Rift
The Oculus Rift has become synonymous with VR, even if the brand has lost some of its luster against the HTC Vive and the PlayStation VR. The retail version of Oculus Rift is out, and while it's more expensive than the developer kits were, it's also much more advanced. From a technical standpoint, the headset is nearly identical to the Vive. It costs $200 less than the Vive as well, but it lacks the Rift's whole-room VR, and if you want motion controls you'll need to spend that $200 for the upcoming Oculus Touch controllers. And as with the HTC Vive, you'll need a pretty powerful PC to use the Rift.
Samsung Gear VR
Samsung's Gear VR is one of the most compellingly polished and accessible VR systems, with a catch. To use the Gear VR, you need a compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone (currently six devices, including the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge). This narrows down potential users to people who already own compatible Samsung phones, since buying one just to use with the Gear VR pushes the price to HTC Vive levels. If you already own a phone to go with it, though, the $100 Gear VR features controls built into the headset, a pass-through connector for keeping your phone charged, and is fairly comfortable to wear. Samsung collaborated with Oculus to build the Gear's software ecosystem, which already has a handful of games and apps, including virtual theaters for watching Netflix and other streaming video services.
Google Daydream View
You won't find it in the chart above because it isn't out yet, but Google Daydream is another VR platform worth mentioning. It's similar to Google Cardboard in concept. You still put your phone in an inexpensive headset (like the $79 Daydream View), and it functions as your display thanks to a set of lenses that separate the screen into two images. A pairable remote you hold in your hand (similar to the Oculus Remote) controls the action. As for how the software platform improves on the concept over Google Cardboard, that remains to be seen. Right now all we know is that it has higher technical requirements.
Windows 10 VR Headsets
Microsoft just announced partnerships with multiple hardware manufacturers to offer a variety of Windows 10-compatible VR headsets on top of the Vive and Oculus Rift (which have their own software ecosystems with Steam and the Oculus Store). These headsets will use outward-facing sensors for motion sensing, so they won't need external cameras or sensors like the Rift, Vive, and PS VR. Microsoft says the headsets will start at $299, and the confirmed partners include Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Specific models and availability have not yet been revealed.
Microsoft has also been working on the HoloLens, an augmented reality headset with a lot of potential. Just keep in mind that AR is not VR.