Best Standalone VR Headset – Oculus Go vs Vive Focus vs Pico Neo

The virtual reality market is expected to grow at the highest rate and standalone vr headsets definitely portray a giant stride in this booming era of technology. Standalone VR Headset is usually wireless and do not need the support of a mobile phone or PC. You could enjoy high-quality VR from anywhere, avoiding all the hassle of messy cables and being restrained to a computer or any other VR supporting electronic device.

But as is the case with any major purchase decision, the question most buyers have to settle with is how to get a great VR headset that fuses functionality and elegance in one package. The choice isn’t a walk in the park, especially when you are dealing with three brands, each of which is a market leader in its own right. In this post, we shall try to compare the Oculus Go, the Vive Focus, and the Pico Neo so you can proceed and get the best one for you from a point of information. Here is a detailed comparison between the three:

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Affordability

Oculus Go happens to be the most economical buy amongst the lot with a price of $199. However, it does not have tethered headsets and requires support from an external computer or consoles. For beginners, it is worth giving a shot as it fits it easily too. The Oculus Go will start selling in early 2018 for roughly $200 which is half the price of a high-end VR headset Oculus Rift.

Vive Focus is HTC’s first self sufficient VR headset, costs roughly at $620 and includes inside out positional tracking which Oculus Go lacks. HTC revealed that there would be two versions of the Vive Focus. One is a blue version, which would sell for approximately $649 and an Almond White version, which would sell for approximately $605. Pico Neo comes two in variants – one with a controller and headset that costs $749 and the other with only the headset which cost $299.

Field Of View And Display

Oculus Go has a 110 degrees field of view and has a screen resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels singular LCD ‘fast switch’ display with lens better than its high end version Oculus Rift. Vive Focus features a high resolution AMOLED display as compared to Oculus Go with a field of view of not more than 110 degrees.

Both of them use high quality lenses for their headsets and have a refresh rate of 75 Hz. Pico Neo has screen resolution of 1440 x 1600 pixels in double screen LED displays with a 102 degrees of field view. Pico Neo did not disclose the type of lens they use in their headsets. The Pico Neo offers you room-scale VR experience and you neither need an external cameras nor any tethered host computer.

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Tracking

Most of the sensing in a PC enabled VR movement is done using outside-in tracking. The latest new standalone headsets use inside-out tracking where the headsets are fitted with sensors that can detect even the slightest of movement and enable the user a great range of motion. Oculus Go does not have inside-out tracking feature or highly sensitive motion controllers thus keeping its price low, offering ‘standard head tracking only. Vive Focus offers “6-degree freedom” or (6DoF) tracking, thus eliminating the need for additional sensors. It also uses room scale tracking technology which allows the user to move into a 3D environment and connect to it using highly sensitive motion-controllers.

On the other hand, the Pico Neo technology features inside-out tracking, outside-in tracking and 6 DoF motion controllers in their headsets giving a full range of experiences. No external hardware is used for the tracking. Pico Neo uses the controller’s ultra-sonic technology for detecting the motion, but in summary, the controllers emit frequencies which can be picked up by the headsets and then used when calculating the movements. The Pico Neo headset’s previous version came with a 3-DoF tracking-system initially. However, there was an optional external tracking-system offered by the company that could enable 6-DoF tracking.

Hardware

Oculus Go uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor which is also found in LG G6 and Google Pixel. It has a built-in audio and built-in mic with a motion sensing navigation controller included. It also has a 3.5 mm audio jack. Pico Neo and Vive Focus boast of Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor to maximize their performance. However, a Snapdragon 820 processor would have done the job of compelling VR at high resolutions.

The Vive Focus also includes a 9-axis wand controller with a touch pad, Home button, App button, volume controllers, and a trigger. Most of these headsets do offer expandable storage via a Micro SD slot that can support cards up to 2TB. HTC did not reveal how much RAM come installed within the Vive Focus. However, the other have 4GB installed in them and 32 GB of minimum storage in them. The HTC Vive Focus headset comes equipped with a controller, similar to mobile headsets, with a trigger on the bottom and a track pad on the top.

The Pico Neo headset has integrated speakers that feature AM3D-3D spatial audio-technology, as well as rotational sensors and an internal gyro. The headsets optional Tracking Kit features two motion-wands which look very similar to the PlayStation move-controllers. The kit is flanked by 2 camera sensors which track the wands. However, they offer a different room-scale VR from that offered by the Vive Focus.

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Battery Life

Standalone VR headsets use a considerate amount of graphics for providing the high quality experience. The Pico Neo promises only three hours of VR experience, even though even HTC said that their device Vive Focus would offer up to 3 hours of active use, and more than seven days of standby time between charges. Oculus Go boasts that battery would easily last throughout the duration of a movie.

Comfort and Design

The vote has to go to Oculus Go for being the most comfortable and stylish standalone VR headset amongst its rivals. It is light-weighed and looks good while using it. Oculus Go is built for price and less complexity as compared to its counterparts who are usually sturdy and a little on the heavier side.

The headset is made out of a breathable cloth and you can wear it with glasses. Oculus Go is a bit more refined-looking, with a compact design that sits against your face. They are lightweight headsets that are easily removable.

Vive Focus happens to be speckled with 37 visible sensors, and that is the reason why it looks noticeably larger than the Oculus Go. And HTC Vive Focus is heavier than Oculus Go it is still light, weighing around 555g without headphones included.

See Also

Best VR movies to watch in 2018

The 3 Best VR Backpack PCs to Enhance your Experience

Best Selling VR Games on Steam Revealed

 

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