Virtual Reality in 2017: what have we learnt and what’s to come

Back in 2014, when Facebook announced that they bought Oculus for 2 Billion dollars, I thought this will mark the history of another platform. However, 2015 gone by and there’s a couple major announcement, from Sony’s Project Morpheus (it’s currently named PlayStation VR) to HTC Vive, Google Cardboard, Gear VR etc, but it was very clear that for VR to take off there’s still some work to do.

Then comes 2016. In 2016 many of the announced system were released. The Oculus CV1 and the HTC Vive all came out in early January. Google announced and released their Project Daydream as well as we’ve seen a new revision of the Gear VR. And almost forgot, Playstation VR was also released just before Christmas. Each of the released platform is not perfect. I’ll go more in depth in another post on comparing the different platforms, but for now we’ll look at what are some of the things that each platform did right.

First one released was the HTC Vive. It’s the first PC based VR headset and it has seeing widespread use in the commercial space. The position tracking system is inexpensive and accurate and the controllers does an amazing job of both staying simple and functional to give the user interaction inside VR. HTC Vive become the standard for high quality VR experience and it gives the full taste of hand tracking and position tracking for the user in a room scale enviornment.

Oculus Rift CV1 is the second PC based headset released. The setup is simple and the Rift has taken a minimalist approach to its hardware. The Oculus touch also mimics natural hands much better than the Vive controllers and you can definitely tell Oculus spent a significant amount of time designing the experience. (Though is it really worth it to delay the release of the controllers for over 10 months?) Oculus is the platform for anyone that want a full VR experience but no room to setup room tracking. It’s the highest end of sitting (or standing) experience for VR and very easy to setup.

PlayStation VR is the first and only console based VR headset out right now. Though it lacks in power, it made up in affordability and integrates well with the PS4. In addition, it’s currently the best headset for long term use as wearing it feels less than a over-sized goggle but feel like wearing a helmet. It also the best headset to use while wearing glasses. The innovative approach PlayStation VR took in putting on the headset will likely set the standard for ergonomics in future VR headsets.

PlayStation VR have a significantly different headband design from Vive and Oculus

However, the most trending VR headset are none of these three but is the mobile VR experience provided by the Gear VR and the Google Cardboard. The Cardboard is the minimal hardware you need to experience VR and it cost less than $15. And it works with ALL smartphones. So if you are interested in VR but doesn’t want to put down significant resource, the Cardboard is for you. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to try out Google Daydream yet so I’m unable to comment on it.

On the other hand, if you want a more deluxe experience and also have one of the latest Samsung phones, the Gear VR cost just around $100 and it’s definitely a formidable headset with its own library of VR experiences as well as a built in controller. The downside is that if you don’t own one of the latest Samsung phones, you’ll need to buy a new smartphone which could drive the cost up significantly.

Looking back at 2016, the market seem to be leaning toward the mobile VR platform due to its affordability and ease of setup. There’s definitely demand for PC based VR, but their current niche is a luxury gaming device for gamer (or if you happen to have lots of money) rather than something made for everyone.

You can compare 2016 for VR to 2007 of the smartphone era, when the first generation of iPhone was just released. The iPhone didn’t start to become significantly popular until the release of iPhone 4 in 2010 and its likely that VR technology will also take a couple generations. I predict that year will be 2018 when VR see the highest exponential growth. 2017 however, will be an important year to pave the way as companies learn what it takes to build the right headset.

For 2017, we’ll likely see these trends:

• Mobile VR will become more and more widespread following the success of Gear VR and Cardboard. We’ll likely see more mobile phones become compatible with VR headsets and possibly something from Apple (else it’ll get left out). The VR market will also drive the smartphone manufactures to incorporate more performance, higher resolution and more battery to the newest generation of phones in order to meet the demand for VR. PC based headsets will also become more mobile.
• Wireless PC VR will become a thing. With the maturity of 5G network and a huge pain in VR headset wire management, we’ll likely see the next generation of PC based VR headset become wireless as graphics are streamed to the headsets. This will also likely make the headset lighter as well.
• VR headsets will be more comfortable to wear long term, and will be easier to use for people with glasses. I’m looking forward to Lenovo’s new headset and the flip up design of the display could become a standard.

Lenovo’s VR headset with flip up display

• Next generation of VR headsets could have inside out tracking. What this means is that it’ll have the ability to track your position in the world without external hardware. For mobile VR, this is essential as it adds another level of immersion and opens up more possibilities.
• Controller less hand tracking may become available as we start to see them implemented in headsets. How it works out is still uncertain but I see VR interaction will go one of two ways: hand tracking with cameras on headset or a simple controller that’s a hybrid of a mouse and a laser pointer (for non-gaming applications). Whatever the future of VR input will be, it will be simpler and feels more natural.
• Camera(s) will be added to the next generation of VR headsets. This could be for inside out position tracking, augmented real world overlays (essentially turning the headset to AR), or to add in hand tracking capabilities. It’ll become a integral part of every headset.
• Headsets will become cheaper and more affordable. The parts will become cheaper to make (and especially the lens) and competition will drive down the price of VR significantly. Newer headset will likely average between $300 to $400 dollars. (we’ll still have cheaper mobile headsets, but the PC based ones will likely drop in price).
• Standalone headset will become the middle ground between PC based VR and mobile based VR. It will likely use notebook PC technology to add low end PC capabilities to headset while retaining the mobility of mobile VR. A standalone headset might be heavier and may cost more, but it will be magnitudes more powerful than mobile VR.
• There will be a lot more content outside gaming. Whilst there will definitely be more VR games, the growth of non-gaming application for VR will be even higher. More and more companies are now seeing the trend in VR and is using it in their marketing campaigns. You’ll likely see heavy use of VR in trade shows as more and more businesses see the high value in showcasing an experience over pictures and videos.

In summary, 2017 will be the year when a lot of improvement in virtual reality is made, so when the next year comes, each person will see VR as more than just a novel toy and purchase it for every day use.