A new virtual reality system from HP contains lenses designed by Valve, adheres to Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality standard and takes inspiration from Facebook's Oculus controllers, all for $599 USD.
Can't decide between the Oculus and Valve VR setups? HP may have the kit for you.
Debuting at $599 USD, the HP Reverb G2 sits between options from Oculus and Valve in terms of price and features.
It presents a standard-setting 2160 x 2160 pixel resolution display to each eye and a pair of off-ear stereo speakers, both courtesy of Valve's design team.
That resolution even pips the 1440 x 1600 of the Valve's own Index -- though at a refresh rate of (a still perfectly adequate) 90Hz instead of 144Hz.
Better still, the Reverb G2 doesn't require the two room-scanning base station cubes of the Index or its predecessor, the HTC Vive.
That's because, rather like the Oculus Rift S, it uses an array of four outward-facing headset cameras to locate the user and track their movements. That's a platform high for WMR devices.
Its controllers have taken after Oculus's second-generation Touch wands not only in terms of their ring-shaped design but also by way of button layouts, making the G2 a versatile piece of engineering.
Pricewise, it's also positioned somewhere between the Oculus line and Valve's Index.
At $599 it's certainly more expensive than entry-level Windows Mixed Reality devices, like Samsung's $399 Odyssey+, or Oculus' $399 Oculus Quest and Rift S options, but it's a lot cheaper than the full fat Valve Index ($999) or HTC Vive Pro ($1,199). It even limbos under the $699 bar set by the Vive Cosmos.
Expected to launch in Fall 2020, HP is proposing the Reverb G2 as a gaming device, product design tool and training simulator front-end.
Now you just need a computer strong enough to power it.
