[crazy_horse]

It's very hit or miss.

I have a Vive from 2016. I purchased the Q2 with the intent of doing dev work with it and I expected it to be a big improvement. I mean I read reviews like yours and I saw what it was capable of.

Don't get me wrong, it's a big deal that it is now standalone (the Vive very much feels lke the matrix), but the visual fidelity hadn't incresed prceptibly in that time (as far as I can tell) and the headset itself is still too heavy.

The higher sales are interesting but it's at like 6 million units worldwide? The most popular consoles were over a hundred million. We're not even into a console that everyone knows about but only that weird dude has like the Xbox yet.

I can see a future where these googles are 3x the resolution, even cheaper, and as light as actual glasses, and that day we'll be at mass market, probably before it.

But if you made me work in VR for any length of time at all as of now, I'll quit because the quality is not there yet. I'd rather play the latest games on cheap but incredible monitors anyway.

Give it six weeks. You might still be entralled. I sold mine, I don't want to build anything for that guy.

[interstice]

I purchased a Q2 mostly because it was an incredible price for getting into VR, something I had long wanted to do mainly because I read a lot of sci fi as a kid.

Unlike the Vive I rented some years ago for a party, the screen made text more or less readable when it was large enough (I think the screen door effect interfered more on the Vive). Also not needing up base stations was a huge QOL improvement for using it a lot, and after I upgraded to Wifi 6 the desktop lag was pretty negligible. The weight doesnt bother me at all to be honest but having it resting against my face probably wouldnt be great day after day.

But after playing around with some desktop mirror apps, I decided it's not where I'd want to switch - yet. I code on a 32" 4k monitor at 100% scaling and I'm not interested in replacing that until I can get close to the same number of words infront of me at a time.

But.. 8k Pimax has been out for a while, 12k Pimax VR headset was announced, and the Varjo aero is expensive but has 2880x2720px per eye and was just released to consumer. The space is getting interesting very quickly at the moment.

[klodolph]

Feels a lot like digital cameras from circa 2000. You had cameras like the Nikon D1, an expensive piece of kit which barely did what it needed to do. But it was getting better.

[paul7986]

That's how I feel and VR and it's form factor has been around for decades... strap a sweaty headset to your face and isolate yourself.

Maybe it will be big for games but gluing a computer to my face for longggg periords of time no thanks.

AR glasses though they could be truly be the next big thing like the iPhone ...subtly enhance the world around us and our social interactions with each other through a form factor we are accustomed to.

[rvz]

> AR glasses though they could be truly be the next big thing like the iPhone…

Yes. This is where we are heading just like smartwatches, it is now a reality.

It always matters on executing it right, just like the smartwatch market. The first to do that right with AR glasses, wins.

[paul7986]

Indeed and the vision Zuckerberg showed for AR glasses looked way too busy.

The UX needs to be subtle (not a lot going on) ... enhance and revolutionize daily life experiences like smart glasses that can zoom in like binoculars (would also help low sighted folks), glasses that turn night into day and vice versa and some other ideas ive thought might enhance real life like playing ping pong or a card game and the glasses keep/show the score with each point awarded... also when you meet someone new the glasses tells you their first name at the least. As well show you how a building or a spot in the woods where there once was a house looked decades or more ago.

Also for branding call them smart glasses not AR glasses ... average person can easily understand that branding.

[rvz]

All good points and makes sense. Whoever gives the smart glasses its killer app with a great UX and ecosystem of apps wins.

This 'killer app' will likely come from Meta, Apple, Alphabet or Microsoft and unlikely that it will come from Snap.

Then, there's always surprises.

[paul7986]

If you watch Zuckerberg's AR Glasses demo posted today (fantasy demo) where he's fencing an Olympic fencing champ you will see above her head the score of the game.

Once I saw his first demo of Facebook Stories glasses where he was playing ping pong (in late August/early Sept) I immediately thought the glasses should be keeping/showing the score and posted that thought. They probably were working on that before, but maybe not and overall and right now its all just fantasy. Possibly for patents and to show investors that Apple's blocking Ad Trackers is hurting us but we have a way forward.

Also he is showing off a lot of AR Glasses tech not VR cause he believes VR (strapping headset to your face) isn't the next big thing rather AR/Smart Glasses are. But all he is showing is YEARS away.

[goatlover]

It can be very immersive for games designed well for the VR platform. It can also be quite immersive when visiting locations, as long as the video is high quality. There's also some interesting 360 video experiences, like experiencing being a character in a movie. I also see the potential for exploration, like with the three space apps I have. And there are several apps which give you a good workout. The Supernatural one is great, if you're willing to pay $200 a year.

[xupybd]

Thanks I had been thinking about getting one after a positive review I read here [1].

But I'm starting to think it's not going to be good enough for a days work.

[1]https://blog.immersed.team/working-from-orbit-39bf95a6d385

[ChuckNorris89]

>I purchased the Q2 with the intent of doing dev work with it and I expected it to be a big improvement

Well there's your mistake. I also have the Q2 but it was never meant for work but for games. The device was built to be as cheap as possible with the apropriate compromises that are just not gonna cut the salami in terms of image clarity for small text and such needed for work. Games like beat sabre and super hot? A complete blast! Browsing HN or code on it? Pass.

A VR headset for work would need to have a high resolution display panel per each eye, instead of shared one for both. That would massively increase the price, weight and the GPU horse-power needed to drive 2 high-res displays while decreasing battery life.

The tech is just not there yet for this to be cost effective enough to sell in high volumes but we're getting close really fast.

[crazy_horse]

Kind of feel bad for my ambiguity....I bought it to make VR content with.