Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, PSVR, Oculus Rift S or Valve Index?

It all depends on who you are and how much you want to spend.

Yes, VR is still around, and it’s seen a huge spike in interest this year with the March release of Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx. But the idea of VR in 2020 is in transition because companies like Qualcomm (which makes the chips inside most self-contained VR headsets, such as the popular Oculus Quest) are building new chips that point to a wave of better standalone headsets at lower prices, including ones that plug into your smartphone.

Meanwhile, remember those older mobile VR or phone-based VR headsets, like the Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream? They’re basically dead, and many current smartphone options don’t even work with the old goggles anyway. If smartphone-based VR comes back, it’ll more likely be in the form of small headsets that plug into phones via USB-C.

1. Oculus Quest

The best standalone VR

Positives: Self-contained and wireless; great touch controllers; comfortable design for gaming.

Negatives: More limited library of apps; standalone design limits more advanced apps and tools.

At $400 with nothing else needed, the Oculus Quest delivers virtual reality games and an immersive VR experience anywhere. The Quest reminds me of the Nintendo Switch for its versatility and fun, plus it takes mere seconds to start up. The Quest also fits really well over glasses. The standalone VR headset has self-contained motion tracking and a full-motion six degrees of freedom (aka 6DoF) VR controller that is the same as the ones on the PC-required Oculus Rift, plus a surprisingly great high-resolution display and built-in speakers. Apps are downloaded right to the standalone headset’s onboard storage. Its more limited mobile processor still plays games such as Beat Saber, Moss and SuperHot VR extremely well, and it can even connect with a PC if you want to, using a single USB-C cable.

2. Sony PlayStation VR

Still worth it for the games

 Positives: Plenty of games; lower price; works with many PS4 controllers like the DualShock and Move.

Negatives: Resolution isn’t cutting-edge; Sony hasn’t yet made great VR controllers that match the competition.

Sony’s three-plus-year-old PSVR headset is still the only head-mounted display for gaming consoles and its screen still offers a surprisingly immersive experience. Even better, it’s often on sale for as low as $200, sometimes with games thrown in, too. Sony has delivered (and continues to deliver) many excellent virtual reality games, many of them exclusives. All you need is the PSVR and a PlayStation 4 and you can start playing. (A few good games to start with are listed here.) This VR system is showing its age, though, compared to the alternatives.

Price: Amazon $245 Walmart $300

3. Oculus Rift S

Best easy-to-set-up PC VR

Positives: Reasonable all-in price; crisp display; in-headset room tracking; really good controllers.

Negatives: Bulky headset isn’t very portable; can’t flip up like some other VR headsets.

The Oculus Rift S is an improvement over the original 2016 Rift PC VR headset, adding overdue features like a higher-resolution display and self-contained room tracking via five cameras studded in the Rift S headset. No more external cameras or sensors are needed, making the Rift S much easier to use casually.

Oculus’ collection of games and apps is excellent, and the Oculus Store is easy to browse for games for first-time Rift users. In-headset tracking for the Rift S isn’t always as seamless or as large-scale as the holodeck-like room tracking on the HTC Vive and Valve Index, but not needing to install any extra hardware is a huge help. The Rift S still uses a cable tethered to your PC, but at least that one cable is pretty compact.

Price $399 at Lenovo

4. Valve Index

Best PC VR to explore the future of VR controllers

Positives: Amazing futuristic controllers; high-quality headset; works with Vive hardware.

Negative: Expensive; requires room setup and tethering cable.

Valve’s new headset might be the most interesting PC virtual reality experience this year, just for its fancy new controllers. Valve’s “knuckle” controllers are pressure-sensitive and can track all five fingers, making them almost like gloves. Not many apps make the most of them yet, but Valve’s hardware is mix-and-match compatible with the HTC Vive, which also is built on the Steam VR platform. The Index headset has excellent audio and a really sharp, wide field-of-view display.

The Index uses external “lighthouse” boxes, meaning you need to set those up in a room first. It’s not as self-contained as Oculus’ Rift S, which can track the room with in-headset cameras, or the HTC Vive Cosmos. It’s also definitely not wireless, but if you already have some Vive hardware, you could add on parts of the Index to mix and match.

Pricing $999 at Steam

5.  HTC Vive Cosmos

Could be a flexible, modular system

Positives: Modular faceplates for extra features; built-in tracking; flip-up visor.

Negative: More expensive than the Rift S or the original Vive.

A wild-card pick for PC VR is the Vive Cosmos, the follow-up to 2016’s HTC Vive. The Cosmos has self-contained tracking like the Oculus Rift S and a better-resolution display than the original Vive, but also has swappable faceplates that will add more cameras for mixed reality and external sensor tracking (for larger holodeck-type experiences). The Cosmos can get expensive, but its flexibility might be intriguing for creators. Bonus: you can use Valve Index accessories with it.

Price $700 at Amazon

TOP VR HEADSETS FOR 2020