Standalone headsets from Oculus, HTC and Google could spark an interest in virtual reality for a whole new group of users. But, which standalone headset should you choose?

Imagine seamlessly hopping into a virtual world. No cables, no booting up your computer, no updating drivers. And certainly no base stations. No inserting your phone, no interruptions for every text or tweet, and no worrying about how much battery life you’ll have left after a 10-minute VR session.

Simply pull your standalone headset off its base station or charger, put it on, and you’re in whatever world you want to be.

That’s the concept behind the Lenovo Mirage Solo and Oculus Go, both launched earlier this month, and HTC’s Vive Focus, which is expected to launch to international markets later this year (developer kits were released May 5).

Based only on the Facebook and Google groups I’m a part of and the posts and tweets I’ve seen, it’s obvious that content creators already see the potential for standalone devices.

Not only will they make it easier to show your work to prospective clients and display work at festivals and events, but they will also open up a whole new market of VR users looking for the perfect balance between quality, cost and simplicity.

But, which one is THE one for you?

Focus, Go, or Solo?

We know specs aren’t everything; LCD screens versus AMOLED each offer unique benefits. Which is more important: a high refresh rate or high resolution? Opinions vary…But, before I get into what I think are the key differentiators between the headset, here’s a short spec dump:

Lenovo Mirage Solo

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset
• 2560 x 1440 QHD LCD screen
• 110-degree field of view
• 75 Hz refresh rate
• Price: $400

Oculus Go:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset
• 2560 x 1440 LCD fast-switching screen
• I can’t find an exact number, but it’s similar or even slightly wider than the Samsung Gear’s 101-degree field of view
• Either 60 Hz or 72 Hz refresh rate, depending on the app
• Price: $200

Vive Focus:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset
• 2880 x 1600 single-piece AMOLED
• 110-degree field of view
• 75 Hz refresh rate
• Price: Not yet announced, but the headset goes for 3999 yuan in China (about $600)

Content, Content, Content

On Twitter, a reader reached out to me and asked if I thought that the later release of the Vive Focus would cripple its chances compared to the Oculus Go–especially since, as he rightly pointed out, all the devs at F8 got a Go for free.

My answer? Maybe.

All specs aside, a chief difference is what content is available on each headset.

Already, Oculus Go users are complaining about a dearth of compelling new content on the headset. Although the headset launched with more than 1000 titles, users complained that many of them were just ported over from the Gear VR ecosystem.

I’ve heard similar complaints for the Mirage Solo, a Google Daydream headset with access to the Daydream content library.

Don’t get me wrong, complaints about the quantity of content are valid. But, perhaps its also a problem of quality–that’s what Oculus thinks.

At GDC 2018, Oculus’ Head of Content Jason Rubin said that they were shifting their investment strategy for VR content. Oculus is now focusing on creating a smaller number of higher quality VR experiences, rather than a large volume of experiences.

“What we think consumers want, and what’s going to work, is AAA content,” Rubin said.

Their hope is that big budget content will draw new people into VR in general, and Oculus in particular.

Oculus Go: half the price, half the DoF

The second differentiating factor is that, unlike the Vive Focus and Mirage Solo, the Oculus Go only offers three degrees of freedom (meaning the device only tracks head movements). The other options offer six degrees of freedom, where the body can move forward/back, up/down, and left/right.

But, there are two important points to make here.

First, at $200, the Oculus Go is much cheaper than the other standalone options. The Mirage Solo is twice the price ($400) and the Vive Focus costs 3999 yuan (about $600).

Secondly, Facebook shared this very interesting stat at F8 that flew under the radar, but could explain their choice to launch a 3 DoF headset at a cheaper price point.

According to their research, 40 percent of mobile headset users have never opened a VR game app. However, 83 percent of time spent in a smartphone-based headset is inside media and entertainment apps and 99 percent of users have consumed video within their headset.

Maybe my generalization that the standalone headset was a step up for mobile VR users is wrong, but if I’m right (and I think I am), these smartphone-based VR stats could factor into Oculus’ decision not to offer 6 DoF in exchange for a lower price point. The vast majority of immersive video isn’t volumetric, so users wouldn’t need a 6 DoF-capable headset anyways.

That gives the 40 percent of users who never game have very little reason (at the moment) to shell out an extra $200-400. But, we’ll have to wait for some sales stats to leak out before we can confirm that this is true…

What about mobile & PC VR?

Although I have a lot of confidence that standalone headsets will increase consumer adoption of VR, I tend to agree with Oculus on the future of VR: standalone headsets won’t kill PC or mobile VR. Instead, they’ll offer an intermediary experience that’s higher quality than mobile VR and more accessible than PC VR.

At GDC 2018, Rubin reiterated the Oculus’ commitment to PC VR and said he believes PC will “lead the VR industry for the next decade or more.”

“I want to be really, really clear here: PC is vital to the VR business,” he said. “There’s so much more we’re going to be able to with VR, and PC is where we figure that out. So, Oculus is investing just as much in PC as ever. We’re in all three categories [PC, mobile and standalone], and plan to stay there.”

So, the verdict is…

I’m not going to say 2018 will be the year of VR. Predictions for 2015, 2016 and 2017 have tainted that all-too-general prediction. But, I do think 2018 will be a big year for standalone headsets.

And when technology becomes more affordable and easier to use–as it does with standalone headsets–the opportunity for mass adoption increases dramatically.

And–whether in the form of an Oculus Go, Vive Focus or Mirage Solo– that could mean big things for VR in general.

---

A version of this article originally appeared on Redshark News.