hardware preview
Hands-on: Oculus Santa Cruz Prototype II & Controllers
Today at Oculus Connect 4, the company's annual developer conference, Oculus revealed the Project Santa Cruz 'Prototype 2' standalone VR headset, including 6DOF motion controllers. Though it might not look obviously different at a distance than the original prototype...
Hands-on: Google’s New Daydream View Headset With Pixel 2 & Pixel 2 XL
Google today announced the next iteration of their Daydream View headset for virtual reality on Android. We highlighted the changes and improvements in our announcement article, but how does it handle in practice?
After watching Google unveiled a range of...
Hands-on: Samsung Odyssey Windows VR Headset & Controllers
Microsoft and Samsung formally announced the Odyssey Windows VR headset today, positioning it as the "premium" option among the Windows VR headsets, with a range of features not found on the other headsets, and the top price point. The...
Hands-on: Microsoft’s “Mixed Reality” VR Motion Controllers
Microsoft debuted the lengthily-named "Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers" back in May, but until now we haven't had a chance to actually try them out. During a recent meeting with Microsoft in San Francisco, I got to try the...
Hands-on: ‘Kat Walk’ Proves That VR Treadmills Are Getting Better, but Still Aren’t Perfect
Despite completing a successful Kickstarter back in August 2015, there still aren't many Kat Walk VR treadmills outside of Asia, let alone the premium version specially built for out-of-home facilities like theme parks, malls, and cruise ships. The short...
Hands-on: DisplayLink XR Wireless VR Tech is Top Notch, Lighter Than it Looks
At E3 2017, DisplayLink is touting their 'XR' wireless solution to eliminate the tether on VR headsets. Our hands-on with their reference device revealed a robust solution with impressive quality and unnoticeable latency.
DisplayLink is but one of a handful...
Hands-on: Google’s Standalone Daydream Headset Prototype with WorldSense Tracking
Over the last 12 months or so we've been keeping an eye on Google's aggressive hiring for its AR/VR team which, among other things, suggested that the company was working on new “mass production” hardware that would go beyond the...
Hands-on: Acer VR Headset for Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Platform
Thursday morning at Microsoft's Build conference, the company announced the opening of pre-orders for two new VR dev kits. Developers in the US and Canada can now pre-order the Acer ($299) and HP ($329) Mixed Reality headsets. Delivery of the headsets...
Hands-on: IMR’s Wireless VR System Aims to Untether Today and Tomorrow’s VR Headsets
IMR is one of several companies creating technology to enable a future where high-end VR headsets can break free of the tether that keeps them connected to the host PC. The company's secret sauce is their proprietary compression algorithm...
Hands-on: Latest StarVR Upgrades Highlight Ultra-wide FoV & Nearly Invisible Pixels
StarVR is a VR headset in development by Starbreeze Studios which aims to excel in two places: field of view and resolution; presently offering a whopping 210 degree field of view and 5120x1440 resolution. The latest version of the...
Hands-on: Go Touch VR’s Haptic Feedback is So Simple You’ll Wonder Why You Didn’t Think of...
Sometimes, the simplest solutions are also the smartest. Go Touch VR's approach to VR haptics achieves surprising effectiveness out of small, simple haptic devices that provide stimulation to the end of your fingers.
Call it "obvious," but this is the...
Hands-on: Reactive Grip Haptic Controller Prototype with Vive Tracker, Touch, and Custom SteamVR Tracking
Tactical Haptics, developers of the Reactive Grip controller, are showing their latest prototypes now with attachments for the Vive Tracker, Oculus Touch, and a custom-built SteamVR Tracking solution. The controller employs a unique solution to haptic feedback which aims...
Hands-on: StrikerVR’s Latest Prototype Haptic Gun Packs More Than Just Virtual Bullets
At GDC 2017 this week we've gone hands-on with the latest prototype of StrikerVR's 'Arena Infinity' haptic VR gun. Built (for now) for the out-of-home sector, the peripheral's powerful haptics adapt from guns to chainsaws to grenade launchers and...
