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I have long been skeptical of the entire field of VR and AR and "mixed reality" stuff. At some point I can see AR being a useful thing, but only when it reaches

I have long been skeptical of the entire field of VR and AR and "mixed reality" stuff. At some point I can see AR being a useful thing, but only when it reaches a much higher level of unobtrusiveness. I got a Quest 2 for my son, and having played around with it for a bit, I stand by my view. There are some neat applications, but for the most part it seems like something that will start gathering dust once the novelty wears off. What is the "killer app" that people see here?

FirmwareBurner 3y ago
>I got a Quest 2 for my son, and having played around with it for a bit, I stand by my view. There are some neat applications, but for the most part it seems like something that will start gathering dust once the novelty wears off. The exact thing will be happening to the AVP once the hype and novelty wears off. It's neat for a few apps and use cases, but nothing game changing YET for the entire consumer base to convince average people they REALLY need to go out and by one, other than that every tech youtuber and influencer has one to show off. I think the big changes will come in the future once it becomes more mainstream and more killer aps come to them.
ronnier 3y ago
None. Of the people I know who have one, use it for the first couple of weeks then rarely touch it ever again. My son would rather play pc games. Only thing I’d like to use one is to watch movies in bed.
TulliusCicero 3y ago
VR tech still isn't ready for truly mass adoption, but there's definitely cool stuff in there. It's just not for everyone. I think it'll get there eventually, but it's gonna take a long time. > What is the "killer app" that people see here? For some people (myself included), it's Beat Saber. Super fun rhythm game that wouldn't work outside of VR. Very useful for exercise. In fact, VR is good for exercise in general. There's a lot of rhythm/fitness/sports games, or ones that aren't explicitly targeted at that area but still give you a workout, like Gorilla Tag. Having a big library of games-that-are-also-exercise that you can use at home is a big benefit. If you're the kind of person who likes games, this is probably a more effective use of your money than, say, a treadmill. Of course, some people like various VR games for their own sake. Playing something like Blade & Sorcery or Dungeons of Eternity is certainly much more immersive than regular video games. I felt like a murderous sociopath when I first played B&S, and the graphics aren't even that good! There's also people who want to use VR for productivity purposes, like having infinite screens, though I think for most people the comfort level isn't there yet. And lastly, porn. Of course there's VR porn.
- andrewla 3y ago
  Beat Saber is fun, sure. But it doesn't feel like a "killer app"; it's just a must-have game. It's isolating -- playing it around other people is just kinda weird, and you can share the screen but the timing is off by enough to make the game and the viewers out of sync (for a rhythm game that is just deadly). And the song library is very limited, and add-on packs are expensive. In the end, though, the replayability is not infinite. It just feels like a dead end technology.
  - TulliusCicero 3y ago
    The replayability is infinite if you do custom songs. Regardless, none of what you said stops it from being a killer app to many people who enjoy VR.
  - seec 3y ago
    I completely agree. As a consumer device VR is a dead end and that's before even talking about costs and inconvenience. AR could have some uses but the tech needs to be so much better that it's a pipe dream for now. I really don't get the hype for those things; I have tried many and never ever I really felt I needed or wanted one. In fact all the things I did in the headset I would rather do outside. People talking about a gimmick game that exist in other forms on pretty much every platform are stuck in a fantasy world...
jayd16 3y ago
Quest 3 launch is when they even released the AR APIs. Quest 2 isn't really an AR device at all. I'm not sure your mind would change with a 3 but its really not valid to base things on the Quest 2.
DreamFlasher 3y ago
For two friends of mine it's BeatSaber for years running strong. I haven't explored that enough on my Quest 3 yet to say I'm hooked, but I can imagine it happening. For me it's (3D) movies/shows: I generally don't watch movies, I am more a TV show guy. But I'm blown away by 3D movies. I don't like cinemas either, so for me the killer app is "home cinema". Also started to watch 2D movies/shows on it and the "huge screen" is amazing. Agreed an actual home cinema would give me the same effect, but the Quest is a lot more flexible, portable and smaller.
thefz 3y ago
> I have long been skeptical of the entire field of VR and AR and "mixed reality" stuff. Same. So far VR seems a solution in search of a problem. Developers are scrambling to find the killer app for it while it should have been the killer app. And headsets gather dust on shelves.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago

>I got a Quest 2 for my son, and having played around with it for a bit, I stand by my view. There are some neat applications, but for the most part it seems like something that will start gathering dust once the novelty wears off. The exact thing will be happening to the AVP once the hype and novelty wears off. It's neat for a few apps and use cases, but nothing game changing YET for the entire consumer base to convince average people they REALLY need to go out and by one, other than that every tech youtuber and influencer has one to show off. I think the big changes will come in the future once it becomes more mainstream and more killer aps come to them.

ronnier 3y ago

None. Of the people I know who have one, use it for the first couple of weeks then rarely touch it ever again. My son would rather play pc games. Only thing I’d like to use one is to watch movies in bed.

TulliusCicero 3y ago

VR tech still isn't ready for truly mass adoption, but there's definitely cool stuff in there. It's just not for everyone. I think it'll get there eventually, but it's gonna take a long time. > What is the "killer app" that people see here? For some people (myself included), it's Beat Saber. Super fun rhythm game that wouldn't work outside of VR. Very useful for exercise. In fact, VR is good for exercise in general. There's a lot of rhythm/fitness/sports games, or ones that aren't explicitly targeted at that area but still give you a workout, like Gorilla Tag. Having a big library of games-that-are-also-exercise that you can use at home is a big benefit. If you're the kind of person who likes games, this is probably a more effective use of your money than, say, a treadmill. Of course, some people like various VR games for their own sake. Playing something like Blade & Sorcery or Dungeons of Eternity is certainly much more immersive than regular video games. I felt like a murderous sociopath when I first played B&S, and the graphics aren't even that good! There's also people who want to use VR for productivity purposes, like having infinite screens, though I think for most people the comfort level isn't there yet. And lastly, porn. Of course there's VR porn.

andrewla 3y ago
Beat Saber is fun, sure. But it doesn't feel like a "killer app"; it's just a must-have game. It's isolating -- playing it around other people is just kinda weird, and you can share the screen but the timing is off by enough to make the game and the viewers out of sync (for a rhythm game that is just deadly). And the song library is very limited, and add-on packs are expensive. In the end, though, the replayability is not infinite. It just feels like a dead end technology.
- TulliusCicero 3y ago
  The replayability is infinite if you do custom songs. Regardless, none of what you said stops it from being a killer app to many people who enjoy VR.
- seec 3y ago
  I completely agree. As a consumer device VR is a dead end and that's before even talking about costs and inconvenience. AR could have some uses but the tech needs to be so much better that it's a pipe dream for now. I really don't get the hype for those things; I have tried many and never ever I really felt I needed or wanted one. In fact all the things I did in the headset I would rather do outside. People talking about a gimmick game that exist in other forms on pretty much every platform are stuck in a fantasy world...

jayd16 3y ago

Quest 3 launch is when they even released the AR APIs. Quest 2 isn't really an AR device at all. I'm not sure your mind would change with a 3 but its really not valid to base things on the Quest 2.

DreamFlasher 3y ago

For two friends of mine it's BeatSaber for years running strong. I haven't explored that enough on my Quest 3 yet to say I'm hooked, but I can imagine it happening. For me it's (3D) movies/shows: I generally don't watch movies, I am more a TV show guy. But I'm blown away by 3D movies. I don't like cinemas either, so for me the killer app is "home cinema". Also started to watch 2D movies/shows on it and the "huge screen" is amazing. Agreed an actual home cinema would give me the same effect, but the Quest is a lot more flexible, portable and smaller.

thefz 3y ago

> I have long been skeptical of the entire field of VR and AR and "mixed reality" stuff. Same. So far VR seems a solution in search of a problem. Developers are scrambling to find the killer app for it while it should have been the killer app. And headsets gather dust on shelves.