I love virtual reality. The idea that we can now completely immerse ourselves in an entirely artificial environment is an incredibly appealing one to me, and I know for a fact that it means big things for the world of video games in particular. Products like the Oculus Rift are going to change how we game forever – and I can’t wait.
Unfortunately, for every Oculus Rift, there’s a project like AirVR. This absolutely bizarre virtual reality rig has you literally strap a phone or tablet to your face. To make matters even stranger, it’s apparently intended to be used in your day-to-day life.
Let me repeat that – to use it, you strap a phone or tablet to your face.
Designed for use with the iPad Mini or iPhone 6 Plus, AirVR is supposedly going to bring its users into an amazing, vibrant new reality; one which is irrefutably superior to the current one. That’s awesome, right? We should be tripping over ourselves to pick this up, right?
Yeah, I don’t think so.
As I’m sure you’ve already surmised, there are a couple of glaring problems with the approach AirVR has taken towards bringing virtual reality to the masses. The first is that – aside from making you look like you’re trying for a bargain-bin Cyclops costume – it essentially makes you a walking target. Someone with a bloody mobile device hanging a few inches from their eyes most assuredly doesn’t look like the sort of person who’s even remotely aware of their surroundings.
The second is that Smartphones and Tablets – no matter their quality – simply aren’t made to be used like this. Some of you may recall Google’s low-budget cardboard VR headset – namely, the fact that it had this irritating tendency to cause both headaches and motion sickness in users (and probably long-term damage to eyesight). To assume that AirVR would be any different would be foolish, at best – it’s just made with materials that are slightly more expensive than cardboard.
And for those of you looking to spring to the product’s defense, I’m aware of the iOS Retina display – and that it allows newer iOS devices a pixel density higher than any other device. I highly doubt this will make much of a difference in terms of the product’s usability. After all, a higher pixel density doesn’t change the fact that strapping on an AirVR means you’re basically smashing your face into a screen.
Anyway, I’m more or less done ranting for now. Those of you who – for some reason I can’t conceive – are still interested in picking up an AirVR mask of your very own, you can find the Kickstarter page here. $49 or more will get you early access to the device – then you can use it to your heart’s content.
As for me… personally, I think I’d rather just stick with Google Glass. Maybe it’s not full VR, but it definitely doesn’t look as goofy – and I’ll wager it’s less likely to give me a migraine.
