The following text contains a detailed comparison between various standalone VR systems, currently: Oculus Go & Quest, Mirage Solo, Vive Focus & Focus Plus.
If you are thinking about VR gaming, you are better off waiting until Oculus Quest and Vive Focus Plus are released. Both feature position & orientation tracking for the headset and controllers. For that reason they are the only standalone VR systems providing the experience similar to VR on a PC.
To go directly to the comparison tables click here. Bear in mind that not everything is known yet about Oculus Quest.
Below you can find a guide for choosing between: Oculus Go, Mirage Solo and 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 THE VR SYSTEMS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC & PS4 | |||||
| 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 | ? | |
| 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 | ? | |
| 2D videos on a virtual screen: | Yes e.g. YouTube, Netflix | Yes | |||
| Steam & Steam VR: | 2D via Big Screen app (laggy), VR via Air Light VR or VRidge | 2D via Steam Link app, VR via Trinus VR or VRidge or Radeon ReLive | ? | ||
| Device: | Oculus Go | Mirage Solo | Vive Focus | Vive Focus Plus | Oculus Quest |
| Limits of Steam VR on given platform: | No positional tracking | Lack of fully-fledged VR controllers | Not clear how bad the lag is | - | |
| 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 | ? | |
| Can be used while lying in bed: | Yes | No | Probably (straps are elastic yet more rigid than for the Oculus Go) |
||
Use cases – comments:
Positional tracking feature of the Mirage Solo can be enabled for all 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.
Mirage Solo has two cameras. At the moment their only function is positional tracking of the headset, however there are plans to enable a pass-through mode, so you can look around the room without taking off the headset.
Positional tracking of the Vive Focus is done using two cameras as well. Contrary to the Mirage, it already has a pass-through mode enabled.
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 because controllers for standalones lack functionality. Also, Oculus Go has no positional tracking which is quite essential for Steam VR.
Notwithstanding the limits, it is possible to use some of the VR content from Steam. To do that you will need a third party software. The options available are listed in the table.
| FEATURES OF THE VR HEADSETS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC & PS4 | ||||
| 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 | ? |
| Charging time (Hours): | 3 | 1.3 | ? | ? |
| 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 the headsets – comments:
The processor of the Mirage Solo and Focus: 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 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 unit during charging.
| FEATURES OF THE VR CONTROLLERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC & PS4 | |||||
| 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 |
| ENGAGEMENT MECHANISMS OF THE VR CONTROLLERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC & PS4 | |||||
| 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 | ||