No, Virtual Reality is Not a Fad

Every technological leap we take forward is accompanied by the complaints of those stuck who are in the past. But make no mistake when it comes to virtual reality (VR). It’s not a fad. And it’s only going to get better over time.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Using a $15 Google Cardboard viewer—yes, it’s literally made of cardboard—you can have a basic VR experience on the cheap and see for yourself. And despite the limitations of the underlying mobile platform—Cardboard works with both Android handsets and the iPhone—it’s still pretty damned impressive.

To understand what a mean, try a few of the core experiences: YouTube VR, for example, provides 360-degree videos, including some amazing examples that take place in outer space. Or you can travel the world virtually using Google Street View. In both cases, I’ve felt a twinge of bliss—similar to nostalgia or deeply personal moments—that transcends what’s normally possible with 2D experiences. VR experiences really can be transformative.

There are two obvious issues with VR and VR offshoots such as augmented reality or mixed reality today: The affordable experiences are truly basic, with VHS/standard definition-quality video and graphics and only basic interactivity. Meanwhile, more sophisticated VR products like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are incredibly expensive and complex to set up and use.

That will change. And if you think back to other technology transitions we’ve made over time, you can see that VR, today, is much like video games were in the early 1980’s: The graphics were blocky and basic, and silly by today’s standards, but many of these games provided exciting interactive experiences and hinted at the graphical splendor to come.

In the early 1980’s, my brother and I thrilled to the white noise “crowd cheering” sounds and blocky graphics of Intellivision’s Football and Skiing titles, but 30 years later, video games have become photographic-quality immersive experiences with professional soundtracks and acting. Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield 1 are so realistic, they create real memories of in-game experiences and locations.

VR won’t need 30 years to mature; that’s the nature of modern technology. And we can already see the interim steps that will get us there.

Based on an admittedly short period of time testing Google’s new Daydream View headset, I can make the following generalization: Graphically, the experience is no better than what’s available on Google Cardboard; indeed, the apps you use with Daydream are often the exact same apps you use with Cardboard, or are apps that have small bits optimized for Daydream View use.

That, too, will change over time. But even if the quality of video and graphics in Daydream View never improve—and given the way the phone heats up when you use this solution, I’m guessing they will not—this newer, more expensive ($80) solution still offers some compelling advantages over Cardboard. And, I think, is a decisive step up.

First, the headset itself is incredibly comfortable and, unlike Cardboard, is actually worn. With most Cardboard solutions, there’s no strap, so you have to hold the device to your face. Daydream View, whatever its technical limitations, is the most comfortable VR solution I’ve tried, and while I’ve not yet experienced PlayStation VR, I have used HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Galaxy VR (another phone-based solution), and Microsoft’s HoloLens.

Second, Daydream View comes with a simple controller, which is key to adding interactivity to the experience. With Cardboard, there is only a single button on the headset, limiting your ability to interact with the virtual experiences you’re having. Daydream View takes this to a new level with a controller that supports gestures and movement, and it has a trackpad-like interface and real buttons.

It’s pretty clear that PlayStation VR is a step up from phone-based VR solutions like Cardboard, Daydream View, and Galaxy Gear VR. But it’s more expensive–$400 plus the price of a PlayStation 4 ($300) or PS4 Pro ($400)—and, unlike phone solutions, is physically tethered with a wire. That means you need to use the device in whatever room your PS4 is in. But PSVR is supposed to be very comfortable too, and you’ll see a nice graphical bump over the phone solutions, which should improve the immersive nature of the experiences. The ability to use PS4 controllers is a huge plus for gamers, too, and there are Move motion controllers for simpler interactions.

As noted, PC-based VR solutions like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift are more complex, and much more expensive: Including the PC required for these devices, you’ll be spending somewhere in the $1500 to $1800 range, minimum. But they’re also more impressive graphically, and of course afford the widest range of interactivity thanks to a variety of supported input devices.

There is, however, another option coming soon.

We’ll learn more this week, but Microsoft has already announced that the next major version of Windows 10, due in Spring 2017, will include built-in support for Windows Holographic, the technologies that power its standalone (untethered) HoloLens mixed reality headset. HoloLens is incredibly expensive—$3000 for the headset alone—but it’s aimed only at vertical commercial markets and at the developers who will create apps for those markets. By putting Windows Holographic right in Windows 10, Microsoft will be opening up—democratizing—the availability of this technology to just about everyone.

Helping matters, the top five PC makers have all agreed to create VR/AR headsets that will work with Windows Holographic and provide HoloLens-like experiences on devices that cost as little as $300. These devices will of course require a PC, and Microsoft has promised that lower-end PCs will be supported. We’ll learn more this week, literally, since WinHEC—Microsoft’s China-based conference for hardware makers of all kinds—is just about to start.

But I have confirmed the following: Microsoft’s partners will enable a range of VR/AR peripherals that will, in turn. offer a range of capabilities. A low-end solution combining a $300 headset and a low-end PC will provide VR capabilities that will meet or exceed what’s possible with phones or PSVR today. And higher-end and more expensive options will add AR/mixed reality capabilities but require, in turn, more expensive PCs.

We should learn the details soon, but if you don’t mind waiting a year, we should see Windows Holographic hardware appear throughout 2017.

If you do mind waiting, spend $15 on Google Cardboard and see what all the fuss is about. You won’t be blown away by the video or graphics quality you see. But you will be blown away by the immersive nature of the available experiences. Yes, even in something as silly and low-end as Cardboard.

VR is happening, folks. As are more advanced AR and mixed reality experiences. Your only choice is to dive right in and enjoy it now, or in the future.