4 ms·

>VR headsets are expensive Quest2 is $299, so actually on the scale of a very cheap phone. Maybe some things are more tedious but some things are better. Eve

by jayd16 5y ago

>VR headsets are expensive Quest2 is $299, so actually on the scale of a very cheap phone. Maybe some things are more tedious but some things are better. Ever more ubiquitous computing and contextual/spatial computing of AR is really interesting. You don't get it but others find AR/VR compelling and Microsoft and FB smell money. It's worth talking about why these large companies are spending the effort.

Zababa 5y ago
> Quest2 is $299, so actually on the scale of a very cheap phone. $299 is not a "very cheap" phone.
- evilos 5y ago
  It's a matter of perspective. Surprisingly poor people will get on cell plans with $1500 iphones.
  - rnd0 5y ago
    Not any I know, and I am one myself. EDIT: while you're implying they have $1500 to put down on a phone what is much more likely is that a)They're gifted said phone b)They're buying a used one off of ebay, facebook marketplace or similar for much much less money c)They're using a "lifeline" phone that they've bought at a discount from their "lifeline" provider. In none of these cases -particularly if they're getting a government subsidy ("lifeline") is it likely that they're paying >$250/mo
- entropie 5y ago
  I agree. A phone is also quite a staple for a long time now. Smartphones were so successful because they are basically better phones. A VR headset is something normal people are just not used to. I guess that will be that way for quite a bit time.
- Spivak 5y ago
  Under $300 is the "budget" category of new phones.
  - ziddoap 5y ago
    What companies arbitrarily categorize as "budget" doesn't really represent or communicate anything.
    - Spivak 5y ago
      My results if I Google "budget phones" * Toms: Under $400 * Verge Under $500 * TechRadar: Under $500 with the lowest category Under $200 * CNET: Under $500 * AndroidAuthority: Under $500 * Wired: Under $500 Like you can personally decide that a budget phone should be under $200 or something but real life people looking to buy "cheap" phones are looking to pay ~<$500 for it.
      - GekkePrutser 5y ago
        True but you're looking at the US. Here in Spain a ton of people use Xiaomi phones between 100 and 200 euro. It always surprises me how much of those I see in the metro. I don't see many flagships at all here, many people on the street also use wired headphones. In the Netherlands it's a totally different picture. Lots of iPhones, S-class Samsung, airpods... It really depends on the country and their average wages.
      - pjmlp 5y ago
        That is one month salary for plenty of people in Portugal, hardly budget.
      - ziddoap 5y ago
        I mentioned that companies shouldn't decide what is budget for people, and your response is to list a lot more companies and what those companies consider budget? >real life people looking to buy "cheap" phones are looking to pay ~<$500 for it. A good portion of the world must not be "real life people" to you. I will hazard a guess and say that you must have lived a life without much financial difficulty.
- drewzero1 5y ago
  Yeah, a $10 phone is 'very cheap'. A $300 phone is at least lower midrange.
vkou 5y ago
> Quest2 is $299, so actually on the scale of a very cheap phone. The Quest2 is $299, but how much is a GPU good enough to deliver a better than a regular desktop/laptop/smartphone user experience these days?
- jayd16 5y ago
  Quest2 is standalone and supports things like RecRoom and such. No PC required.
- vineyardmike 5y ago
  > deliver a better than a regular desktop/laptop/smartphone user experience these days the quest delivers an experience you can't really get with those devices, and it does it with just that hardware. The GPU inside it does what it needs to do (mostly). Also, i bet an apple vr headset with apple silicon GPU would kick ass
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    > Also, i bet an apple vr headset with apple silicon GPU would kick ass Oh it will. But it will cost almost 10x the price of a Quest 2. Apple doesn't get into something until they can do it really well and they make the most of the early adopter premium, only bringing prices down after a few generations.
- zmmmmm 5y ago
  It's not super great but I connected my Quest to my Macbook Pro 2015 and I can use it for work - multiple virtual monitors floating in space where I can edit code etc. The limiting factor is the resolution of the headset, not the GPU of the laptop.
2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago
> You don't get it but others find AR/VR compelling One thing I rarely see mentioned or discussed is the "longevity" of VR interest amongst users. As a (former? I'm not sure yet) VR enthusiast and adopter on the high end of things I noticed that the novelty wore off really quickly, after ~1 year of owning my Index my usage went from somewhat regularly to barely anymore and for most titles with VR support I prefer playing them the regular way and the VR-first titles can't get me to set it up, or were "onetime" experiences (like HL Alyx, which is one of maybe ~3 VR games that really felt enriched and improved by the VR experience, in hindsight). From friends and colleagues of mine I hear similar things, VR headsets collecting dust already.
- setpatchaddress 5y ago
  That's been the story of VR since the 90's. If you view VR as a spectrum between ViewMaster 3-D and a holodeck, we're very much still on the ViewMaster 3-D end of things.
  - bryans 5y ago
    We're really just a couple steps past the Virtual Boy, and that was 25 years ago.
    - longtimelistnr 5y ago
      While the Quest 2 headset is subsidized by Facebook it is still a mind blowing device for $299. For that price it is the most revolutionary gaming/vr experience in the last 50 years let alone 25.
      - NicoJuicy 5y ago
        I would name Gameboy for that
    - jayd16 5y ago
      Not sure if you haven't tried a Quest or haven't tried a virtual boy in 25 years but it's nowhere close. You're not in a sensory goo tank or anything but for starters you can't even lift up a virtual boy.
fartcannon 5y ago
Quest 2 is 299, plus the unknowable cost of supporting Facebooks Orwellian distopia.
RF_Savage 5y ago
It might be sold for $299, but how much do they cost to manufacture? Nothing else in the space with the same specs sells for anythimg near that. And that makes me suspicious about how sustainable that price is.
- MikusR 5y ago
  Nobody else has the software and store that takes % of sales. Also Quest 2 is heavily simplified(cheapened) compared to even Quest 1.
pjmlp 5y ago
In 1994 there were people playing Doom with VR headsets on Lisbon Expo (IT related). Many of us don't get it, because we have seen the sales pitch come back every couple of years.

by jayd16 5y ago

Zababa 5y ago

> Quest2 is $299, so actually on the scale of a very cheap phone. $299 is not a "very cheap" phone.

evilos 5y ago
It's a matter of perspective. Surprisingly poor people will get on cell plans with $1500 iphones.
- rnd0 5y ago
  Not any I know, and I am one myself. EDIT: while you're implying they have $1500 to put down on a phone what is much more likely is that a)They're gifted said phone b)They're buying a used one off of ebay, facebook marketplace or similar for much much less money c)They're using a "lifeline" phone that they've bought at a discount from their "lifeline" provider. In none of these cases -particularly if they're getting a government subsidy ("lifeline") is it likely that they're paying >$250/mo
entropie 5y ago
I agree. A phone is also quite a staple for a long time now. Smartphones were so successful because they are basically better phones. A VR headset is something normal people are just not used to. I guess that will be that way for quite a bit time.
Spivak 5y ago
Under $300 is the "budget" category of new phones.
- ziddoap 5y ago
  What companies arbitrarily categorize as "budget" doesn't really represent or communicate anything.
  - Spivak 5y ago
    My results if I Google "budget phones" * Toms: Under $400 * Verge Under $500 * TechRadar: Under $500 with the lowest category Under $200 * CNET: Under $500 * AndroidAuthority: Under $500 * Wired: Under $500 Like you can personally decide that a budget phone should be under $200 or something but real life people looking to buy "cheap" phones are looking to pay ~<$500 for it.
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      True but you're looking at the US. Here in Spain a ton of people use Xiaomi phones between 100 and 200 euro. It always surprises me how much of those I see in the metro. I don't see many flagships at all here, many people on the street also use wired headphones. In the Netherlands it's a totally different picture. Lots of iPhones, S-class Samsung, airpods... It really depends on the country and their average wages.
    - pjmlp 5y ago
      That is one month salary for plenty of people in Portugal, hardly budget.
    - ziddoap 5y ago
      I mentioned that companies shouldn't decide what is budget for people, and your response is to list a lot more companies and what those companies consider budget? >real life people looking to buy "cheap" phones are looking to pay ~<$500 for it. A good portion of the world must not be "real life people" to you. I will hazard a guess and say that you must have lived a life without much financial difficulty.
drewzero1 5y ago
Yeah, a $10 phone is 'very cheap'. A $300 phone is at least lower midrange.

vkou 5y ago

> Quest2 is $299, so actually on the scale of a very cheap phone. The Quest2 is $299, but how much is a GPU good enough to deliver a better than a regular desktop/laptop/smartphone user experience these days?

jayd16 5y ago
Quest2 is standalone and supports things like RecRoom and such. No PC required.
vineyardmike 5y ago
> deliver a better than a regular desktop/laptop/smartphone user experience these days the quest delivers an experience you can't really get with those devices, and it does it with just that hardware. The GPU inside it does what it needs to do (mostly). Also, i bet an apple vr headset with apple silicon GPU would kick ass
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  > Also, i bet an apple vr headset with apple silicon GPU would kick ass Oh it will. But it will cost almost 10x the price of a Quest 2. Apple doesn't get into something until they can do it really well and they make the most of the early adopter premium, only bringing prices down after a few generations.
zmmmmm 5y ago
It's not super great but I connected my Quest to my Macbook Pro 2015 and I can use it for work - multiple virtual monitors floating in space where I can edit code etc. The limiting factor is the resolution of the headset, not the GPU of the laptop.

2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago

> You don't get it but others find AR/VR compelling One thing I rarely see mentioned or discussed is the "longevity" of VR interest amongst users. As a (former? I'm not sure yet) VR enthusiast and adopter on the high end of things I noticed that the novelty wore off really quickly, after ~1 year of owning my Index my usage went from somewhat regularly to barely anymore and for most titles with VR support I prefer playing them the regular way and the VR-first titles can't get me to set it up, or were "onetime" experiences (like HL Alyx, which is one of maybe ~3 VR games that really felt enriched and improved by the VR experience, in hindsight). From friends and colleagues of mine I hear similar things, VR headsets collecting dust already.

setpatchaddress 5y ago
That's been the story of VR since the 90's. If you view VR as a spectrum between ViewMaster 3-D and a holodeck, we're very much still on the ViewMaster 3-D end of things.
- bryans 5y ago
  We're really just a couple steps past the Virtual Boy, and that was 25 years ago.
  - longtimelistnr 5y ago
    While the Quest 2 headset is subsidized by Facebook it is still a mind blowing device for $299. For that price it is the most revolutionary gaming/vr experience in the last 50 years let alone 25.
    - NicoJuicy 5y ago
      I would name Gameboy for that
  - jayd16 5y ago
    Not sure if you haven't tried a Quest or haven't tried a virtual boy in 25 years but it's nowhere close. You're not in a sensory goo tank or anything but for starters you can't even lift up a virtual boy.

fartcannon 5y ago

Quest 2 is 299, plus the unknowable cost of supporting Facebooks Orwellian distopia.

RF_Savage 5y ago

It might be sold for $299, but how much do they cost to manufacture? Nothing else in the space with the same specs sells for anythimg near that. And that makes me suspicious about how sustainable that price is.

MikusR 5y ago
Nobody else has the software and store that takes % of sales. Also Quest 2 is heavily simplified(cheapened) compared to even Quest 1.

pjmlp 5y ago

In 1994 there were people playing Doom with VR headsets on Lisbon Expo (IT related). Many of us don't get it, because we have seen the sales pitch come back every couple of years.