Standalone VR systems can be divided into 2 categories: those supporting hands presence in VR and those which don’t. Lack of hands presence significantly reduces one’s ability to interact with a virtual world, so if you have gaming in mind you absolutely need it.
To go directly to the comparison tables click here.
Systems with hands presence in VR – for people interested in VR games:
- Oculus Quest
Oculus Quest and Vive Focus Plus both feature position & orientation tracking for the headset and controllers. For that reason they are the only standalone VR systems capable to deliver the experience similar to VR on a PC.
Having said that, Vive Focus Plus is meant to be a solution for enterprise applications, so it is not clear how much push, if any, there will be to support gaming as well.
Oculus Quest standing out features:
- reduced SDE
Thanks to subpixels.
- large sweet spot
- reduced God rays
- great Touch controllers (in terms of features & engagement identical to the Touch for PC)
Still the best. Soon to be dethroned by the Valve Index controllers. Not by a wide margin though.
Oculus Quest weaknesses:
- not much content
There are only 50 games & apps confirmed for the launch, yet Oculus is committed to change it.
- internal battery could live longer
Buying a supplementary, external one may be a good idea, especially if you could attach it at the back of your head to balance the headset out.
System without hands presence in VR – for those who don’t care about VR games much, and are rather interested in media consumption on a large virtual screen:
- Oculus Go
- Mirage Solo
- Vive Focus
If your IPD varies from the average 64-63 mm a lot, you won’t be happy with the first two because of the fixed distance between the lenses.
Pros of Oculus Go vs Mirage Solo and Vive Focus:
- much bigger repository of games and apps
- cheaper
- bigger sweet spot & less God Rays
- less heavy: 468g instead of over 660
- easier to travel with, and can be used while lying down in bed
Straps are soft and can be easily folded. Mirage Solo and Vive Focus have a rigid band.
Cons of Oculus Go vs Mirage Solo and Vive Focus:
- no positional tracking
Positional tracking makes the experience more comfortable: motion sickness is less likely.
- impossible to change the distance between the lenses to match a personal IPD
Vive Focus has this feature.
- no micro SD slot
If present, it increases the storage capacity a lot.
- less capable hardware
Less RAM and slower processor.
- using generic Android apps is problematic in comparison with Mirage Solo
Sideloading them to the Oculus Go is a hassle.
If cons overweight the pros, you are better off with either Mirage Solo or Focus:
Pros of Mirage Solo vs Vive Focus:
- more content
Content for the Focus is very sparse.
- cheaper
- bigger internal data storage capacity: 64 GB vs 32
- easy to use generic Android apps
Simply install any of them using Google Play and have a go on a virtual screen.
Cons of Mirage Solo vs Vive Focus:
- not possible to adjust to a personal IPD
- controller has no trigger and no removable batteries
When batteries die, you cannot swap them with some fresh ones, and have to charge the internal ones instead.
- face padding cannot be detached
It wears off and gets soaked with sweat. It’s good to be able to replace it.
- less comfortable
- supported micro SDs have smaller capacity: up to 256 GB instead of 2 TB for the Focus
- no on-board speakers
Speakers are useful only if you are on your own and can’t be bothered to deal with external headphones.
Comparison tables:
Use cases
Features Of Various Systems
Features of the headsets
Image quality of the headsets
Comfort of the headsets
Features of the controllers
Engagement mechanisms of the controllers
| USE CASES OF STANDALONE VR SYSTEMS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device: | Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus and Focus Plus | Oculus Quest | |
| VR games & apps: | All Samsung Gear VR games | All Daydream games & apps | Viveport games & apps for the Focus and/or Focus Plus | Games made for it. Couldn't find any info about compatibility with Gear VR. | |
| 360 degrees videos and photos: | Yes | ||||
| Android apps & games on a virtual screen: | Some (sideloading them is a hassle) | All listed on Google Play (easy to install) | It is possible to sideload them, there is no guarantee they will all work, and it's a hassle | Some (sideloading them is a hassle) | |
| 2D videos on a virtual screen: | Yes e.g. YouTube, Netflix | Yes | |||
| Steam & Steam VR: | 2D via Big Screen app, VR via Air Light VR or VRidge | 2D via Steam Link app, VR via Trinus VR or VRidge or Radeon ReLive | 2D via Big Screen app, VR via Air Light VR or VRidge | ||
| Device: | Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus | Vive Focus Plus | Oculus Quest |
| Limits of Steam VR on given platform: | No positional tracking and high latency | Lack of fully-fledged VR controllers and high latency | High latency (roughly 3x higher than PC VR via cable) | ||
| Compatible popular third party controllers: | Xbox One S, PS4 DualShock 4, Switch Pro | Xbox One, PS4 DualShock 4, Switch Pro, some keyboards | Xbox One, PS4 DualShock 4, Switch Pro | ? | |
| Pairing headset with wireless headphones: | No | ? | ? | ||
| Screen Casting: | Yes, to smartphone, tablet or PC | Yes, via Chromecast | Yes, via Miracast | Chromecast | |
| Can be used while lying in bed: | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| USE CASES OF VR FOR PC AND PS4 | |||||
Use cases – comments:
Positional tracking feature of the Mirage Solo can be enabled for all Daydream games and apps, however in most cases it doesn’t add anything apart from the increased comfort (motion sickness less likely). Specifically there aren’t many games/experiences which would incorporate it as an essential feature.
Regarding the content: Samsung Gear VR repository is much bigger than Daydream, which in turn is bigger than Viveport for the Focus (very sparse). The repositories mentioned are not cross-compatible !!!
Another potential source of the content is Steam. You can stream 2D games into the headset or even have a go with some Steam VR.
In the first case (2D) you simply use a virtual screen in the headset instead of a monitor, and one of the compatible controllers (consult the table above).
Steam VR content is more tricky: there is a latency lag affecting the comfort and it makes sense only for systems which feature hands presence: Oculus Quest and Vive Focus Plus.
| FEATURES OF STANDALONE VR HEADSETS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device: | Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus and Focus Plus | Oculus Quest |
| Tracking: | Orientation only | Position & orientation | ||
| Processor: | Snapdragon 821 | Snapdragon 835 | ||
| RAM (GB): | 3 | 4 | ||
| Internal storage (GB): | 32 or 64 | 64 | 32 | 64 or 128 |
| Ports: | Micro USB | USB-C | ||
| Card Slot: | No | Micro SD, up to 256 GB | Micro SD, up to 2 TB | No |
| Connectivity: | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | |||
| On-board speakers: | Yes | No | Yes | |
| On-board headphones: | No 3.5 mm socket for external ones | No 2 x 3.5 mm sockets |
||
| Device: | Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus and Focus Plus | Oculus Quest |
| On-board microphone: | Yes | |||
| Battery life (Hours): | 2-2.5 | 3.5-4 | 3 | 2-2.5 |
| Charging time (Hours): | 3 | 1.3 | ? | 2 |
| Removable face padding: | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Manual adjustment to IPD: | No | Yes | Yes 58–72 mm |
|
| Buttons: | Power, Volume Rocker | Power, Volume, Visor Adjustment Button, Headband Adjustment Dial | Power, Volume, Headband Adjustment Dial | Power, Volumer Rocker, IPD slider |
| FEATURES OF VR HEADSETS FOR PC AND PS4 | ||||
Features of the headsets – comments:
The processor of the Mirage Solo, Focus and Quest: Snapdragon 835 is ~27% faster and consumes ~40% less energy than the Snapdragon 821.
Oculus Go and Mirage Solo don’t have a manual IPD adjustment. It means that the distance between the lenses is fixed, so if your IPD differs much from the average 63-64 mm, you won’t be a happy bunny.
Another feature affecting the comfort is the way the headset is attached to the head. Each headset follows a different philosophy. The general principles are described elsewhere.
Oculus Go, Quest and Vive Focus have a pair of speakers, so you don’t need any headphones. If you choose not to disturb people around you, just plug your headphones into the 3.5 mm socket, and the speakers will be automatically turned off.
Finally, it’s worth to mention that Oculus advises against using the Go during charging. This advice is not applicable to the Oculus Quest, however having it tethered obviously violates its standalone nature. Using a couple of battery packs, which you can swap when low, would be a preferable solution for longer sessions.
| FEATURES OF CONTROLLERS FOR STANDALONE VR SYSTEMS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus | Vive Focus Plus | Oculus Quest | |
| Both hands involved: | No, single controller | Yes, 2 identical controllers | Yes, left & right controller | ||
| Tracking: | Orientation only | Position & orientation ultrasonic tracking performed by the headset | Position & orientation tracking performed by 4 cameras installed in the headset |
||
| Powered by removable batteries: | Yes, single AA | No | Yes, two AAA | Yes, single AA per controller | |
| Battery life (hours): | ? | 12 | 30 | 4 | 30-20 |
| FEATURES OF VR CONTROLLERS FOR PC AND PS4 | |||||
| ENGAGEMENT MECHANISMS OF CONTROLLERS FOR STANDALONE VR SYSTEMS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus | Vive Focus Plus | Oculus Quest | |
| Touchpad: | Yes | No | |||
| Thumb-stick: | No | Yes on both controllers |
|||
| Trigger: | Yes | No | Yes | Two triggers on both controllers (index and middle fingers) |
|
| Grip button: | No | ||||
| Action Buttons: | No | X and Y on the left controller, A and B on the right one | |||
| Other buttons: | Back, home | Back, home, volume | App button, home, volume | Menu & home buttons on each controller | Menu button on each controller |
| Touch Sensors | No | Yes | |||
| Haptic Feedback (vibrations) | No | ? | Yes | ||
| ENGAGEMENT MECHANISMS OF VR CONTROLLERS FOR PC AND PS4 | |||||
Cyber Headgear is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com