Do you want to give an original gift to a loved one, or to yourself for the 2020 Christmas party? We advise you to choose a VR headset. There is nothing like a whole new VR experience to make your Christmas even more memorable.
This Christmas 2020 promises to be brilliant with the launch of more powerful VR headsets and great, fascinating games. It is also the perfect opportunity for beginners to get started in the world of VR. In this article, we’ve put together an accurate overview of the best VR headsets currently available on the market.
The autonomous VR headset for this Christmas 2020
A stand-alone VR headset can be used independently of another terminal. It doesn’t need to be plugged into anything and that’s exactly what makes their advantages. They also offer great ease of use thanks to their all-in-one nature and the absence of a connecting cable.
Standalone VR headsets generally have a lower cost than its PC or console counterparts, making them a great choice as a Christmas gift.
Oculus Quest 2
The Quest 2 is the new more powerful version of the Oculus brand. It performs significantly better than its predecessor, the Quest 1, in terms of resolution, refresh rate and memory.
This new version of the Quest range uses four integrated cameras to allow the user to move around in the VR game. The headset comes with two Oculus Touch motion controllers as well as a free hand tracking controller.
The Quest 2 has a large library of games and can be connected to a PC with a USB-C cable. Because of this, it allows users to play more graphically intensive games that were once limited to the Oculus Rift.
With its excellent price-performance ratio, the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset is a decent option to spend an unprecedented Christmas with your friends or with your family.
The Quest 2 is available at $299 for the 64 GB version and $699 for the 256GB version.
Technical characteristic of the Oculus Quest 2:
- Resolution: 1.832 × 1.920 (3.5MP) per eye [LCD]
- Display refresh: 60Hz, 72Hz, 90Hz
- Lenses: Single element Fresnel
- Champ de vision : ~90° diagonal
- Optical adjustment: IPD, Eye-Relief
- IPD ports: 58mm, 63mm, 68mm
- Processor: Snapdragon XR2
- RAM : 6GB
- Capacity: 64GB / 256GB
- Connectors: USB-C
- Battery: 2-3 hours
- Tracking : Oculus Insight
- Controllers: Oculus Touch v3
- Audio: Built-in speakers, 3.5mm output
- Micro: Yes
- Camera pass-through: Yes
VR headset on console for this Christmas
On the console side, there isn’t really a wide choice, as the PS4 is the only console that currently supports a VR headset. So that makes PlayStation VR the best default VR headset that you can use on console for this Christmas 2020.
It is obvious that to run the HTC Vive, the HTC Vive Pro or the Oculus Rift, you need a high-end gaming PC. Such a configuration is not necessarily affordable for most users. Not so with Sony’s PlayStation VR, which requires little more than a PS4 console to function.
Playstation VR
Sony’s VR headset, which launched in late 2016, was a great headset for its time, featuring a handful of great, exclusive VR games you won’t find anywhere else. However, the Japanese firm’s VR headset has officially passed its peak in 2020 and is lagging a bit behind for this Christmas ranking.
Nonetheless, the PlayStation VR remains a surprisingly competent headset considering the significant power difference between the PS4 and the PC. Its refresh rate is always responsive and it remains reliable in terms of head-tracking. Thanks to the support of Sony, the collection of PlayStation VR games is also impressive especially with the exclusive titles.
PS VR is currently available at $399 on the market.
Technical characteristics of the PS VR:
- Resolution: 960 x 1,080 (1.0MP) per eye (RGB OLED)
- Display frequency: 90Hz, 120Hz
- Angle de vision : 100° diagonal
- Optical adjustment: Eye-relief
- Connecters : USB, HDMI
- Cable length: 4.4m
- Tracking : camera stereo (camera external)
- Controller: DualShock 4, PS Move, PS Aim
- Audio: earphone, 3.5mm output
- Microphone: Yes
VR headset on PC for this Christmas
There is no doubt that PC VR today is where you will find the highest visual quality. With the arrival on the market of even more powerful VR headsets, PC is also offering the most ambitious VR games for this Christmas 2020.
Of course, you’ll need a reasonably powerful gaming PC to plug in your headphones. Such a configuration is considered beyond the reach of a standard audience. But, if you are an RV enthusiast, you will know that the investment is worth it. Indeed, VR on PC is a unique experience due to its quality.
Valve Index
If you want to buy the best PC VR headset for this Christmas, Valve Index is the perfect choice. It’s more expensive compared to the rest, but it strikes a great balance between quality, performance, and comfort. The Index has considerable advantages, including its excellent tracking performance, its wide field of vision, its quality controllers and its range of ergonomic settings.
The Index is one of the VR headsets that offers ergonomic adjustment for the eyes. This allows you to bring the lenses closer to your eyes as comfortable as possible, while allowing you to maximize your field of vision. This feature also makes it easy to adjust the headset when using it with your glasses.
The Index has a physical IPD setting that ranges from 58mm to 70mm, in order to allow the lenses to align with the width of your eyes.
The Valve Index currently costs $1640 with full kits.
Technical characteristics of the Valve Index:
- Resolution: 1,440 × 1,600 (2.3MP) per-eye (LCD)
- Display frequency: 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz
- Lens: double Fresnel element
- Angle de vision : ~130° diagonal
- Optical adjustment: IPD, eye-relief
- IPD range: 58–70mm
- Connectors: USB 3.0, DisplayPort 1.2, – 12V power supply
- Cable length: 5m
- Tracking : SteamVR Tracking 1.0 or 2.0
- Controllers : Valve Index controllers
- Audio: In-ear headphones, output – 3.5mm
- Micro : double micro
- Camera Pass-through: Stereo 960 × 960
HP Reverb G2
HP’s new Reverb G2 is the VR headset you want for this Christmas if you’re into high resolutions. The Reverb G2 should especially be your first choice if you are planning to play flight simulator or VR driving games.
The major advantage of the Reverb G2 is its best-in-class 2160 × 2160 resolution. This feature can deliver amazing results with the right content. Thanks to a collaboration between Valve and HP, the Reverb G2 uses the excellent headphones from Valve’s Index.
This HP brand headset will be equipped with improved controllers compared to previous WMR headsets. It also has an internal tracking system that makes it easy to use in the absence of external trackers.
The G2 is available on the market for $629.95. A version with controllers is also available at $749.95
HP Reverb G2 technical characteristics:
- Resolution: 2,160 × 2,160 (4.7MP) per eye (LCD)
- Display frequency: 90Hz
- Lenses : Single element Fresnel
- Angle de vision : 114° diagonal
- Optical adjustment: IPD
- IPD range: 60–68mm
- Connectors: USB-C, Display port
- Cable length: 6m
- Tracking: 4 on-board cameras
- Controllers: Reverb G2 controllers
- Audio: In-ear headphones
- Micro: Yes
- Camera Pass-through: Yes
