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VR has come a long way in just a year, I welcome compition to the VR space. With the Oculus Quest 2 now being a year old, it works great and has a lot of software for it. With Apple entering the VR space this should accelerate VR even more. Looking to playing Resident Evil 4 on the Quest 2 in a couple of months. Should be very fun!
 
I bought an Oculus last year. It was a total pandemic buy. It is hands down the worst purchase I have ever made. Even the kids don't want to use it. I look forward to seeing which manufacturer gets the set up right so that [1] the graphics are good; and [2] developers actually make games for it.
 
people are still using VR headsets? that's so... 2018?
I started with the HTC Vive in 2016 playing a few times a week, then got the Valve Index which was massive upgrade visually and for audio, but after a while I played through all the available content, including Half Life Alyx which was incredible, and stopped using it.

Then I got a multiplayer game called Population One and a Quest 2 in late 2020 and I've been playing VR every single day since. At the end of the day, it came down to having the right content to keep bring me back and having a convenient wireless headset. When you slip it on you're in VR, no booting up computers. That's what changed VR for me. I'm pretty sure every VR headset moving forward is going to try to copy this model.
 
Serious question: How do these headset type devices work for those of us who have aged to the point of needing reading glasses? I can't read anything this close to my eyes now. Do they contain lenses to correct for this, or can the correction happen electronically (that feels like a dumb question to me, but I honestly have no idea if that can be done)? Seems like a large part of the market is going to be over 40, so I assume this problem can somehow be addressed.
 
I'm pretty sure it's Micro-LED and not Micro-OLED, unless I'm missing some new technology that is. I thought the point of micro-LED was to get the benefits of OLED on a non-organic LED panel.
It is micro-OLED. Each pixel is tiny, allowing extremely high resolutions that are suited to the screen being very close to the eye, such as AR, VR, and viewfinders. It is essentially the same technology as OLED, but needed new manufacturing techniques to work at such a small scale.
 
Serious question: How do these headset type devices work for those of us who have aged to the point of needing reading glasses? I can't read anything this close to my eyes now. Do they contain lenses to correct for this, or can the correction happen electronically (that feels like a dumb question to me, but I honestly have no idea if that can be done)? Seems like a large part of the market is going to be over 40, so I assume this problem can somehow be addressed.
It’s like being young again. Everything is in focus because the lenses put the focus plane at infinity. There’s also spacers so you can make room inside for glasses if you are nearsighted.
 
Is there any existing software that would use the goggles?
Games, maps, and any app you might think of could be ran by ar/vr glasses if a smart way to interact with virtual reality is developed.
 
Wonder where the studies are that show the long term effect of a bunch of LEDs within an inch of the eye?

Oh, wait! Those studies will be bought and paid for, so no worry, the product will be safe. At least until it is not.
 
people are still using VR headsets? that's so... 2018?
Headsets like implied by this newsblurb has never been seen.
If Apple nails eye tracking and foveated rendering, they could have something very interesting in the future with a ton of yet unseen applications. They could go in at a completely different level than the Rift/Vive and say ”This. This is the baseline.” And software wouldn’t need to consider the limitations of any previous hardware+software. It would be interesting in a way no evolutionary step of Apples existing product lines could be.
 
people are still using VR headsets? that's so... 2018?

I'm always amazed when trying new VR headsets. They have made significant progress from 2018. Increases in resolution make a huge difference. Initially it is immersive. The limiting factor is always weight and cables. Amazement turns to discomfort that pulls you out of the experience. Someday, it will happen.
 
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I'm always amazed when trying new VR headsets. They have made significant progress from 2018. Increases in resolution make a huge difference. Initially it is immersive. The limiting factor is always weight and cables. Amazement turns to discomfort that pulls you out of the experience. Someday, it will happen.

I'll wait for the next updated model.... surely Apple will introduce direct brain input for VR, right?
 
It wouldn't be a product I'd want from Apple, even if it cost only £500.

The problem with Apple is they're a very "you use it how we want you to" kind of company. This doesn't go well with VR where you need lots of options to cater for peoples needs. I could imagine them doing some silly design like they the HomePod, AirPods Max or their Magic Mouse that completely makes the product worthless.

On top of all that VR needs to be open, it needs free indie development and the ability to mod it. This is something Apple will do allow either, so you're be locked to their ecosystem and it'll kill it.
 
It wouldn't be a product I'd want from Apple, even if it cost only £500.

The problem with Apple is they're a very "you use it how we want you to" kind of company. This doesn't go well with VR where you need lots of options to cater for peoples needs. I could imagine them doing some silly design like they the HomePod, AirPods Max or their Magic Mouse that completely makes the product worthless.

On top of all that VR needs to be open, it needs free indie development and the ability to mod it. This is something Apple will do allow either, so you're be locked to their ecosystem and it'll kill it.
Seeing as I use both the AirPods Max and a Magic Mouse without issue, I can’t really see the anology.

However, I think you’re totally correct that it won’t be a tinkerers product. Then again, neither is either of the two most sold VR headsets so far, nor any Apple product at all really. They seem to manage being successful regardless.
 
I bought an Oculus last year. It was a total pandemic buy. It is hands down the worst purchase I have ever made. Even the kids don't want to use it. I look forward to seeing which manufacturer gets the set up right so that [1] the graphics are good; and [2] developers actually make games for it.
Buy Beat Saber and they won't get enough of it.
 
It wouldn't be a product I'd want from Apple, even if it cost only £500.

The problem with Apple is they're a very "you use it how we want you to" kind of company. This doesn't go well with VR where you need lots of options to cater for peoples needs. I could imagine them doing some silly design like they the HomePod, AirPods Max or their Magic Mouse that completely makes the product worthless.

On top of all that VR needs to be open, it needs free indie development and the ability to mod it. This is something Apple will do allow either, so you're be locked to their ecosystem and it'll kill it.
The Oculus Quest 2 is pretty much an Apple-like experience for VR. It's wireless and comfortable with the extra "elite battery strap," and the user experience is similar to iOS/AppleTV interface, but in VR.
 
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