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Ah, virtual reality. It's so incredible seeing what we dreamed of and romanticized back in the 90s finally picking up, not to mention becoming more affordable than ever.
Just pick up one of the best VR headsets available in 2023, and fire up a VR game on that powerful gaming PC of yours, with the cool LED lights inside!
Don't have that one? It's okay, the Meta Quest 2 is fully standalone, so indeed – VR is cheaper than ever to get into.
Speaking of prices, that's been the main barrier between users and VR headsets since forever, not to mention the complicated process of setting up a VR headset system, and the games for it, and the selling of a kidney for that ultra-powerful gaming PC needed to run the average VR game…
Those are some common problems for any VR enthusiast. Or shall we say – "were" some common problems.
Meta is doing a lot of things right… at least when it comes to VR
The Meta Quest 2
Say what you will about Meta (formerly "Facebook", although we can probably guess why the name changed – stigma), but Meta's Oculus team (now "Meta Quest" team, sigh…) are a bunch of champs!
As someone who has been staying in touch with what the team was up to over the last few years, and even had the honor of exchanging a few messages with Oculus' ex-CTO John Carmack, I am left with the impression that the people over there are genuinely interested in creating the best, most user friendly, and accessible VR headset out there.
And it shows. Especially when you compare the Quest 2 (and eventually the upcoming Quest 3) against any other contemporary VR headset…
Let's talk about what Meta's Quest 2 did for virtual reality as a whole, and why the gold standard it managed to set is great news for us all – current and future VR tech enthusiasts!
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The Quest 2 is so cheap, yet so good, that paying $1,000 or more for VR feels like a major ripoff now
The $999 Valve Index (left) next to the $399 Meta Quest 2
I recently bought the Valve Index, as I never got to try that one out, and its price of $999 was a bit shocking, especially considering the VR headset is pushing 5 years on the market now. Not even one discount, Valve? How very Apple of you.
"Oh well, it's much more expensive than a $399 Meta Quest 2," I thought, "but it's a premium PC VR headset after all, so it should be worth the price!"
Was it? Well… I used both VR headsets for our Meta Quest 2 vs Valve Index comparison side-by-side, and it quickly became apparent that the answer is no. There's just no reason to pay $999 or more for a VR headset nowadays.
The Meta Quest 2 beats the Valve Index in pretty much all the specs that matter, notably display resolution and clarity, yet it costs way less too.
But before you can even appreciate how much better the Quest 2 feels to use, in contrast with the Valve Index's lower-resolution display with its archaic screen door effect, you have to get the Valve Index set up and running first… And it's a nightmare.
The Quest 2 is the simplest to set up and start playing; every other VR headset feels archaic in comparison
The Valve Index requires plenty of free outlets and involves lots of cables, tracking devices
The Valve Index, like many other headsets (e.g. the HTC Vive) comes in a huge retail box. And I mean massive.
And as soon as you unpack it and begin to set up the Index, especially after you've become accustomed to the Quest 2, you start feeling like you're in the middle of performing some unnecessarily-complex mad scientist experiment.
Cables, cables everywhere. The Valve Index headset alone, like many of its kind, needs to be plugged into two ports on your PC, in addition to the mains. On top of that, it requires two Base Stations to also be plugged into their own outlets.
Base Stations are square-shaped devices that the Index (and the HTC Vive, for that matter) uses for head tracking.
I still thought it was fine at first. I mean, yeah, that's a much more intricate set up, compared to just turning on the Quest 2 and it being ready, but hey… Let's give it a fair chance.
Well, my willingness to accept compromises quickly evaporated when I realized that those required Base Station devices emit a high-frequency noise… all the time.
Here I thought they just contained some infrared lights or something, to help guide the Valve Index's tracking, but lo and behold – apparently it's more (seemingly-needlessly) complex than that.
If it's not apparent by now – this is all very archaic. Every headset should follow the Quest 2's example from now on, and the good news is – they probably will.
You want a standalone headset, because you don't own an expensive gaming PC? You got it. You want a PC VR headset? You got that too!
The Quest 2 is as simple as it gets – just a headset and two controllers (and you can even drop those, as it has optional hand tracking support too)
We live in tough times. A lot of people wish to experience the coolest things technology has made possible, but not everyone can afford the type of gaming computer the average VR headset requires.
That's why Meta in its infinite wisdom (and I'm not being sarcastic here, I know it sounds like it) has made a bold choice – make its headsets all-in-one. Standalone. Make them run an Android-based operating system, so the user doesn't need a computer, and can play countless VR titles with just the headset alone. Fully wirelessly!
It's genius. Obviously that has some limitations, though, as Android can't exactly run triple-A PC VR games like Skyrim VR, or Half-Life: Alyx, nor can the Quest 2 contain the powerful hardware needed for those games anyway.
It's a little box strapped to your face, after all. You can't really strap a giant gaming PC with a 12-inch graphics card to your face. So compromises had to be made.
But if you really wish to play PC VR games, and if you actually do own a good PC that can run them, the Quest 2 can also be used as a PC VR headset, not just as a standalone one!
That's the transformers-type stuff I love seeing. Devices that can do more than the average in their respective sphere are usually incredibly versatile and worth it. It's why I love the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is both a phone and a tablet in one.
Similarly, the Quest 2 is both a standalone headset and a PC VR headset in one, and wireless at that. Meanwhile, every other major VR headset on the market (at least for now – and that's an important distinction), requires you to own an expensive computer, on top of a thicker wallet for just the headset alone.
Here's what this all means for us consumers – it's very good news! Valve Index 2, Vive XR Elite, Apple's AR/VR headset, they'll all follow the leader, meaning better VR headsets for us all!
A concept of what Apple's AR/VR headset might be like
By now it's hardly a secret that there's an Apple's AR/VR headset coming soon, and what we've heard about it suggests that it will not only be standalone, like the Quest 2, but it will be running iPad apps with little modifications. So, again like the Quest 2, it will be powered by what's technically a smartphone operating system, meaning it'll be as compact as possible, and simple to use too! All-in-one!
But Apple's not the only one entering, or re-entering the VR headset market this year. Fans speculate that Valve is about to release a new Valve Index 2 VR headset, which might also go wireless and standalone, presumably to also run Android.
And what about 2023 VR headsets that already hit the market? The HTC Vive XR Elite just recently made its debut, and it too has gone fully wireless and standalone.
This wasn't the standard until recently. All of this wasn't the case before Meta set the precedent of headsets being simple, standalone and affordable.
Well, to be fair, nobody seems to be copying the "affordable" part just yet, as both the HTC headset and the Valve Index 2 are (or will likely be) over $1,000, and it's worth mentioning that Meta itself is to raise the price of its upcoming Quest 3 with about $100…
But even so, the Quest 3 will be the most affordable VR headset to come out this year. And its affordability is the one and only thing about it that all the other VR headset makers don't seem to wish to copy. But in every other way – it's on. And it's fantastic for us.
VR headsets are going wireless and standalone in droves this year, so experiencing virtual reality will be simpler than ever.
Stay tuned to our dedicated AR/VR page for the latest AR and VR news, reviews and comparisons!
Rado, a tech enthusiast with a love for mobile devices, brings his passion for Android and iPadOS to PhoneArena. His tech journey began with MP3 players and has evolved to include tinkering with Android tablets and iPads, even running Linux and Windows 95 on them. Beyond tech, Rado is a published author, music producer, and PC game developer. His professional work on iPads, from producing songs to editing videos, showcases his belief in their capabilities. Rado looks forward to the future of mobile tech, particularly in augmented reality and multi-screen smartphones.
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