The year 2016 has witnessed the release of a number of virtual reality headsets such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Sony PlayStation VR and Google Daydream. Although all the headsets are meant to offer a great VR experience, there are some differences between various VR headmounts.
In this head to head, we pit one of the pioneers of VR, Oculus Rift, against one of the newcomers, Google Daydream.
Oculus Rift
The Oculus Rift sports an OLED display with 1,080 × 1,200 pixels resolution per eye. The VR headset offers a refresh rate of 90 Hz, which gives a seamless VR viewing experience to customers. The headset has integrated headphones that provides a 3D audio effect, positional and rotational tracking.
Users should own a compatible PC to use the Oculus Rift, which means customers can experience PC gaming on the Rift. Customers can check the recommended and minimum PC specs requirement on the company's official website.
The Rift weighs 1.03 pounds, or about 467 grams. The Oculus Rift is available only in a black color option.
Owning an Oculus Rift is not cheat as it is priced at $599, which includes a headset, sensor, remote, cables, Xbox One controller and Lucky's Tale. Customers should also note that they have to bear the cost of a powerful PC as well.
Google Daydream
The Google Daydream is the newest VR headset available in the market. Google released the headmount in early November and currently it is compatible only with select smartphones such as the Pixel and the Pixel XL. More Google Daydream compatible mobile phones are expected to hit the shelves soon.
Owners of the Google Daydream can enjoy resolution of 1,440 x 1,280 per eye on the Pixel XL and 1,080 x 960 per eye on the Pixel. The Daydream will require devices with high refresh rates to offer an immersive VR experience.
Google's latest VR headset weighs 7.76 ounces, or about 220 g, without the phone. The Pixel XL weighs 5.93 ounces, or 168 g, which means that the combined weight of the smartphone and Daydream is still lighter than the Oculus Rift.
The Google Daydream costs $79, which is far less than the cost of its competitors. However, it is worth noting that the VR headset needs a compatible mobile phone and not everyone can afford to buy a new handset to go with the Daydream.
The Google headset is available in three color options: slate, snow and crimson.
The Google Daydream is a great addition to the world of virtual reality. However, the VR headset will not be able to compete with PC-powered VR headsets.
