With WWDC nearly upon us, all talk has been around Apple’s rumoured VR headset, the Apple Reality Pro. But I’ve finally had the time to get hands-on with another piece of VR hardware, the PSVR2. This is a seriously impressive bit of kit, and it's only got me more excited for Apple’s take on the technology.
Steady ground
The elephant in the room with all VR technology is nausea. I am unfortunately one of the many who feel a bit sick after using VR for a longer time. Using the PSVR2 will hopefully have developed my VR legs so that I can immerse myself in Apple's headset.
Playing Horizon: Call of The Mountain on PSVR2 was the most mind-blowing gaming experience I’ve had in years. Climbing mountains, I genuinely felt like the floor in my room was moving and lost my sense of positioning. Unfortunately, after about 40 minutes I was lightheaded and couldn’t really stand up (I had to go have a tactical bagel). Surely Apple won’t be banking so big on a technology that will make its users feel ill, especially for the supposed $3000 pricetag. User experience has also been a big part of Apple’s design philosophy so hopefully, they’ll have found a way around this.
Comfort and fit
The PSVR2 isn’t uncomfortable by any means and is actually pretty lightweight, I’d love to see Cupertino’s take on VR be more cosy. The rubber of the PSVR2 can make it very hot and sweaty to use for long periods, and I find it does make my nose itch a lot.
Being tethered to the PS5 is also an issue when some games require quite significant motion from the player. The USB-C cable of the PSVR2 is long but cable management enthusiasts will hate it. Many expect the Reality Pro to be wireless, even if it does have to use an external battery pack, this would really help with the sense of freedom that VR encourages.
Work and play
This is perhaps the most drastic difference between the PSVR2 and what we expect Apple to unveil. Sony’s headset is a strictly gaming-focused machine while we’re pretty certain Apple wants its mixed-reality headset to offer VR gaming experiences as well as AR (Augmented Reality) productivity features. If Apple gets the device’s operating system right (supposedly called xrOS) it could change the way we work forever.
The App Store is another secret weapon for Apple. There aren’t many VR games on the PS5 at the moment and several feel like taster experiences that are hard to justify at console game prices. The ease of developing for the App Store could see a massive increase in cheap or even free VR experiences for users.
