Virtual Reality Types – Explained

Mobile VR vs. Tethered VR

2016 is the year when virtual reality (VR) has officially entered the mainstream. Even last year, VR was a curiosity of sorts, seemingly out of the grasp of the everyday human being, but new and affordable VR hardware keeps hitting the market this year, and it’s changing everything.

VR is suffering from growing pains, like many new technologies, and one of those pains is in the form of misinformation. With different kinds of VR now flooding the market, it’s important to understand the difference between them, and what they can offer.

Broadly speaking, VR hardware comes in two forms: mobile and tethered. Each are growing rapidly in popularity based on their specific advantages, disadvantages, capabilities, and practical applications.

VR on the Go: Mobile Virtual Reality Hardware

Mobile VR is the way through which most of the world will encounter virtual reality, mostly because of its accessibility and price point. These simpler VR headsets are less powerful than tethered headsets, but can be used by a larger section of the population because they require a smartphone, not an entire computer. Mobile VR headsets act as a housing for a smartphone, using the smartphone’s computational power and screen to create the VR experience. It is, at its most basic, an extension of your phone that runs a special app for an immersive VR experience.

Because of their cost, mobile VR headsets vary widely in how they can be used. Some are little more than a specialized carrying case for special videos and little else. Others can run all kinds of programs and, as a result, can provide users with more experiences.

The most prevalent mobile VR headset out today is affectionately called the “Google Cardboard.” Costing somewhere between five and twenty dollars, it’s the introductory VR experience: cheap, limited in its abilities, but is still engaging and provides a basic VR experience. The Cardboard has three components: the cardboard housing for your smartphone, a special set of lenses to look through, and a magnetic switch for limited control. Tilt sensors in the phone sense your head movement to help you look around. While limited in their functionality, over five million Cardboard headsets have been sold thus far.

A more powerful example of mobile VR is the Samsung Gear VR. It’s about ten to thirty times the price of the Cardboard, retailing for around $140, but it’s made with a combination of metal and plastic instead of cardboard. While the Google Cardboard provides a housing for your smartphone and little else, the Gear actually supplements your phone’s processing. With the extra help on the processing front, you can experience more demanding VR experiences much more smoothly.

Besides processing power and durability, the Gear also features a touchpad on the side for even more interactive possibilities. The added controls let you walk around a virtual environment at your own pace instead of simply being able to look around.

Google is addressing the limited capabilities of the Cardboard with a new headset called the Daydream. Priced at an affordable $99.99, it remains one of the more affordable headsets on the market but will provide new experiences for its users. Made with a soft, lightweight fabric, this brand new VR headset is designed to be more comfortable and more powerful than the Cardboard. Users will be able to access exclusive VR experiences from CNN, Google Maps, Youtube, Netflix and more, and can control the action with a small, lightweight, gesture-sensitive remote control.

Connected Virtual Reality: Tethered VR Headsets

While smartphones are surprisingly powerful devices, they simply cannot offer the power needed for the most immersive VR experiences. Those experiences come from wired, or tethered, virtual reality headsets. These headsets have one noticeable difference from their mobile cousins, they have wires, but the tangible advantages come from the computers to which those wires are connected.

Wired VR relies on powerful computers for processing and consequently has more power and capabilities than mobile VR. Because of the increased power, these headsets are on the cutting edge of what VR can do, and the functionality is only growing with new innovations. Tethered headsets, like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, have more functionality and are already being used for things like VR model homes and suites, which make it easy for buyers to visualize the form, function of a space, the view, select finishes, and so on. Tethered VR tends to be more comfortable than the mobile varieties as well, since the processing hardware doesn’t have to be in the actual headset.

Most of tethered VR’s disadvantages are related to its accessibility. The hardware and specs required to run these devices is often expensive, so you will need an expensive computer to run your expensive tethered VR headset. The sheer power available means they can run higher-end virtual environments and provide more interactive material, meaning they’re arguably the best way to encounter the cutting edge of virtual reality in 2016.

At Invent Dev, we create virtual spaces that can be explored with both mobile and tethered VR, which helps our clients reach customers in a variety of ways. Depending on the hardware, a client can take a guided tour through one of our virtual environments using any type of mobile VR headset, including the Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear. Or, they can interact with the environment more directly with tethered headsets, swapping out finishes and options. In fact, our virtual model suites can help you sell units faster, with more upgradeable options and at a lower cost than traditional model homes.