After years of tummy - churning anticipation , it ’s all over — the VR headsets of the future are here . The Rift give you an engaging experience with a handful of fantabulous games . Meanwhile , the Vive gives you unprecedented dominance of your virtual surroundings . But as over-the-top as both devices are , they ’re absolute guff compared to the good VR headset of this generation : the Samsung Gear VR .

Yeah . I said it . The Samsung Gear VR is the best VR headset uncommitted .

It ’s not the most technologically forward-looking headset out there . That’sthe HTC Vive . Plug in the plethora of need peripherals , throw on the headset , and suddenly , you ’re send to a holodeck space straight out of Star Trek . The only thing missing is Wesley being a schmuck . The Vive ’s controller give subtle tactile feedback that interlock seamlessly with your ocular experience . You tap a balloon in a secret plan , and you’re able to feel it skip off the end of your controller . If you see a mountain in the distance , you’re able to hike there — only you wo n’t have to worry about transgress your neck on a fallen Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree limb or stub your toe on a stone . ( Though , you should be wary of object in the space you ’ve ID’d as your VR blank space . )

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

But the Vive takes hour to typeset up initially and the choice of games is pretty pathetic .

The Rift , on the other paw , has better plot than the Vive , it ’s $ 200 cheaper , utilise the same tech and UI as the Gear VR ( to the point that they are both stigmatise as “ Power by Oculus ) , and it requires significantly fewer cords . Yet these advantage descend with the drawback that you ’re confined to one spot — one chair — for your total experience . It ’s an entertaining experience , but hardly as awe - inspire as the Vive .

And both twist still call for a vast investment funds on top of your $ 700-$900 . That is , you postulate a computer . A nice computer . It ’s beat to have a dope video recording card that cost at least $ 300 . you may jam that into a microcomputer you already own and save some cash , or you ’re go to have to build out or buy your own affordable PC , and that ’s a $ 500 investment funds . Minimum . Which means you ’ve clop more that a grand down on a organization that ’s still in its infancy .

William Duplessie

Here we come to the part in which the Gear VR shines . It lets early adoptive parent grave that VR itch without have to drain the kid ’s college fund .

If you already own a Samsung Galaxy S6 or better , then the cost of experiencing the awing existence of practical reality is exactly $ 99 . That ’s it .

If you do n’t own a Samsung earphone then the cost jumps up to a little less than $ 600 ( the Gear VR plus a Samsung Galaxy S6 ) . That ’s still half the financial commitment of the Vive or Rift . Plus 100 - percent few corduroy to deal with .

Starship Test 9

There are a compromise , of course . The graphics in the Gear VR are n’t as good — what with being powered by a tiny phone instead of a beastly desktop personal computer . And folks in glasses will experience some issues focusing the lenses in the cheaper headset .

The Gear VR also does n’t have lode of contentedness . But what subject matter exists is so all-fired simple to navigate . bolt down the sound into the headset , follow the instruction manual , and go . My technologically - challenged roomie regularly calls her electronic computer ’s unvoiced crusade “ retentiveness , ” and she can still manoeuver the Gear VR without asking interrogation .

So alternatively of spending all your cash on the stunning and stunted Vive or the innovational and deficient Rift , go mishandle a lump of paycheck on the Samsung Gear VR . It ’s 85 - percent of the same experience for 50 - percentage of the cost .

Lilo And Stitch 2025

HTC ViveOculus Rift

Daily Newsletter

Get the secure technical school , scientific discipline , and civilisation newsworthiness in your inbox day by day .

News from the future , render to your present .

You May Also Like

CMF by Nothing Phone 2 Pro has an Essential Key that’s an AI button

Photo: Jae C. Hong

Doctor Who Omega

Roborock Saros Z70 Review

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

William Duplessie

Starship Test 9

Lilo And Stitch 2025

Roborock Saros Z70 Review

Polaroid Flip 09

Feno smart electric toothbrush

Govee Game Pixel Light 06