It would appear that major tech companies believe that we are entering a VR Age, as there are a lot of VR headsets that have hit or are going to be hitting the market such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung VR, the PlayStation VR, and the soon-to-be announced Android VR. So what is the best VR headset among them? There are several factors to consider.
Before we can talk about the best VR headset, we have to talk about a new competitor that is about to enter into the ring. According to TechCrunch, there will be a new VR headset announced at Google I/O (an annual developer's conference held from May 18-20 this year), but it will be "less powerful" than the Vive or Rift. This is about all that is known about this headset, as it has just kind of appeared on the Google Play Developer Console with Android Wear, Android TV, and Android Auto, but at least we will find out more about it next week.
So why is Android VR not as powerful as the Rift or the Vive? Well, we have discussed before that the Rift and Vive require a PC to connect it to, and one that is of high caliber. So far, the Oculus Rift has had about one million VR users with new content, according to Engadget. Part of the reason for this success is the bundled headset with desktop PC deals. The specs for this probably put it at the most powerful VR headset, but alone it will cost $599.
The Vive will cost a bit more at $799, and like the Oculus Rift, it is suffering from shipping delays. We already mentioned that a good computer is a requirement for it, and I have already talked about how out of the VR headsets that I tried last year, the Vive seemed the most immersive.
So this leads to the Samsung Gear VR, a very low cost alternative to the user that costs $99.99 and requires nothing else but a newer Samsung device like the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S6 Edge. Is this enough to entice consumers to at least try VR? Well, having the recent addition of Minecraft might change that.
As for the PlayStation VR, it is also too early to say whether or not this is a worthy competitor. After all, it isn't due to arrive in stores until October, but the price is reasonable at $399. No doubt there will be PS4 bundles available for the holiday season as PlayStation VR only requires a PS4 to use.
So it might be too early to decide what is the best VR headset, because the actual competition hasn't even really begun as yet. However, the competition is stiff as some are offering a lower price while some offer more power, but there really isn't a VR made for the Xbox One as yet, really. Perhaps we should let the holiday sales for 2016 decide this winner.
