Virtual reality is continually evolving, and this holds not just in the field of video games but far beyond that. Today, VR is making its presence known in healthcare, real estate, art, and even education.
In the face of so many trends, it is not easy to navigate around the many models of VR headsets in the market. To make an informed choice, it is necessary to establish the essential characteristics to consider in the latest VR headsets for the home in advance.
Some of these considerations are:
- Its Use: Virtual reality headsets for smartphones do not offer the same performance as those for consoles or PCs. Mobile applications do not require impeccable performance, while with a PC, the image quality must be excellent but also consistent with the graphics card of the device. The recent appearance of autonomous headsets promotes greater freedom of movement.
- Comfort: The maintenance of this accessory must be impeccable to avoid an interruption in the experience. Following this logic, you must focus on the weight of the headset and its distribution because a heavy device with a well-distributed weight may not be detrimental to comfort. The quality of the foams will influence the time of use, while the cables should be compact.
- Image Quality: The resolution must be at least Full HD, and the refresh rate must be greater than 30 fps (frames per second) per eye, thus avoiding the effect of shaking. Often, models offer lens configurations to meet your needs best.
- The Field Of Vision: This is the angle of vision that determines the level of immersion of your virtual experience. An angle of at least 100° is necessary to take full advantage of virtual reality. But with 110°, you can find yourself in an even more immersive world.
- Accessories: The best virtual reality headsets come with remote control, power, or connection cables and joysticks, which must be ergonomic.
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Now that you know what to look for in the best VR headsets 2020 let us check out the top ones that you can consider buying!
1. Sony Playstation VR
This VR headset that has been specially designed for PlayStation stands out for its attractive price and, since its launch, remains one of the best VR headsets on the market. The headset connection to the PlayStation is established through a cable that also serves as a power source.
The camera, meanwhile, connects directly to the console.
However, the definition shown for each eye is only 960 × 1080. On paper, it is insufficient, but in practice, the result is quite different.
Sony has performed something called “reprojection,” which essentially doubles the refresh rate (up to 120 Hz). The issue with Virtual Reality is that there is a need for all visual performance to be doubled.
Sony reaches 120 fps in this regard. However, the viewing angle is limited to 100°, while the combined human eyes perceive, on average, 110 clearly. Some might find it not genuinely immersive.
2. Samsung Gear VR
At the end of 2015, the Samsung Gear VR was launched as a result of the collaboration between Samsung and Oculus. It is a pretty good VR headset to consider buying in 2020 for your home.
Keep in mind that this headset is only accessible with some Samsung smartphones. Talking about the connectivity level, this headset has a USB-C port to charge and connect to your phone.
Samsung is developing its range of virtual reality applications. But still, from a technical point of view, Samsung VR headphones are among the best.
The strength of this headset is its power, the resolution of the Galaxy, and its VR quality. It comes with remote control (which easily connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth) as well as a sensitive and solid touch panel that provides a good grip.
3. Oculus Quest
Recently, Oculus Quest appeared as a self-contained, portable headset with an excellent new tracking system. This jewel of Oculus is compatible with computers and game consoles. It is an independent headset, without any bulky cable.
The use via USB-C is still quite conceivable, and it also serves as a charging cable.
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After an easy setup, you can control the accessory with the remote control. The Oculus mobile application is used to configure it.
The resolution is better than the previous version. The reproduction of reality is faithful and maintains a qualitative representation of the image with all kinds of video games.
In addition to that, you get access to fifty games. The field of view is 110°, while the display frequency of 72 Hz offers a correct, immersive, and fluid experience.
Four sensors detect your movements in an empty space of at least 4 m². It is possible to play in large areas using this headset. All in all, a great headset!
4. Oculus Rift S
This new version of the great Rift offers much better comfort, ease, and installation speed. It comes, like the basic headset, with Oculus Touch joysticks.
Installing it is even more straightforward since the Rift S comes with a cable that is divided into a DisplayPort 1.2 and a USB 3.0 (Type A). You can now connect it to a PC, especially since a mini DisplayPort adapter is offered.
Once in your ears, the first observation is the power of this accessory that offers an excellent reproduction on PC with a resolution of 1280 x 1440 per eye, which still requires a computer that works on both the graphics card and the processor.
With the Insight tracking system, you have no less than five integrated sensors (versus four for the Quest) in the headphones, which detect your environment. In addition to that, the Passthrough function, which allows you to see your surroundings without having to remove your headset, is quite elaborate.
On a visual level, we have an angle of 110° on a PenTile LCD panel. This screen may cause a debate.
However, thanks to RGB and subpixels (2 per pixel), the clarity and sharpness of the image are exemplary, and the grid effect is limited. The 80 Hz refresh rate is not felt since the 90 Hz initially defined by the manufacturers has been overrated.
5. HTC Vive
HTC Vive is made up of a highly resistant material with a black plastic cover and the brand logo in white. It has an excellent display technology, which gives it an advantage over other devices that do not have such a specific visual design.
It has a 960 mAh battery that supports up to four and a half hours of intensive use. Moreover, it is one of the 360 glasses that offers greater freedom of movement with 4.5 degrees in its viewing angle.
The HTC Vive also has room-scale technology, gyro, and accelerometers. This means that unlike other types of devices, HTC Vive allows the user to walk, take things accurately within the game and even turn around.
It has a good resolution of 1080 × 1200 in each eye at 90Hz, which guarantees not only greater realism but also a refresh rate without delay of the images.
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Conclusion
After several hours of research and reflection amongst the many models in the market, we have established our selection of these five best VR headsets 2020 currently on the market.
Versatile, immersive, powerful, and autonomous, it is Oculus Quest that has seduced us the most. It can be regarded as the virtual reality headset with the best current value for money.
That said, you cannot go wrong choosing any one of the others either!