Apparently the HP Reverb G2, released in 2021, is now definitively the last Windows Mixed Reality headset.
Not surprising in that light, but it still came as a bit of a shock to me.
The most annoying part is that over the last few weeks, I have been doing most of my gaming on Linux, except VR. I actually looked at selling my HP Reverb G2 to swap it for a native SteamVR (Valve or HTC) headset.
I almost wish I had sold it when I didn’t know this yet. There were already a ton of Reverbs offered on the used market for relatively low prices but this must halve the value again, or worse: not being able to use it with up to date software makes it a very expensive plastic box.
But I would probably feel very bad for the buyer now if I had.
If you don’t want to spend too much money, I would like to recommend the Pico 4. I’ve seen several G2 owners saying they preferred it for flight simming.
Use it for up to 2 hours or plug it into a USB-C charging port of min 15W for continuous VR simming. Yes, there’s Quest 3 but a) it’s Meta, and b) the Pico has a higher native resolution.
You can pick one up from Amazon and if you don’t like it you can always return it.
Thanks for your advice!
I actually had my girlfriend briefly try a Pico 4 this Spring. Although I didn’t try it very seriously (did not want to put in day contact lenses), it did impress me with the huge sweet spot.
The software, just like WMR, didn’t make a great impression though. We ended up having to install Virtual Desktop for it to be usable but DCS at lowest settings stayed a stuttery mess, even in lower resolution, on an RX 6700 XT, pretty decent card, faster than GTX 1080.
It might have been our wifi modem not being up to snuff, or one of the many software layers had too high a resolution setting, but the latency was unflyable.
Pico 4 does work on Linux through ALVR, but it seems to work less reliably than direct SteamVR: I’ve read that it only gave acceptable latency through a cable.
I would check it out again, because of the abaolutely amazing lenses, great comfort and low price, if it weren’t for one thing:
Do you know who produces the Pico headset and all its software, including the servers that it connects to over the internet? And which much bigger service they run?
I don’t like Meta, I was one of the first in my cohort to delete Facebook, and I don’t trust them, but I would much much much rather sell all my data to Zuckerberg than to the Pico’s producers!
well If I did have to buy another headset I would like to get one that has a displayport connection and does not run on a barttery…
The Aero is about currently the only one that fits that bill so I would just have to hunker down and save for it I think with all I need for it it is about 1,499USD… But I prefer it not that I dont want to spend the money.
I would rather spend more for more then spend less for less and those ones that use the USB-C cables are not what I want.
I only spend 300 on my G2 hence it was a cheaper better headset I dont have much issue with the WMR stuff especially since Open XR came out…
But I use MW5 and it works just fine with SteamVR and WMR… but the Aero from what I seen is the only other headset I would like to buy as it meets all my checkboxes for a headset…
I can game 3-4 hours at a time and dont want to be disrupted becasue my battey is out of juice haha!!
Thank you for the suggestions tho, hopefully they do not kill WMR just yet and perhaps keep it for win10 for at least another year or 2…
I wouldn’t. I couldn’t give a flying fig about Chinese knowing my habits. They get more info about me through other means than they ever will through my Pico!
I have nothing installed on my PC and I only use two apps in the headset - Virtual Desktop (for flight sims and NMS) and a Pico exclusive archery game.
Unless Guy Godin has an agreement with them to pass on everything I do on my PC when I use VD (or ByteDance have a way of finding out) that will give them very limited data.
Besides, what are they going to do with it? I don’t use social media, I don’t messaging apps etc - I don’t fear them having the kind of info they may find. If I did I would never have bought anything Chinese produced - and that would exclude me from a hell of a lot!
Maybe you would want to access more with your headset and are concerned - that’s your right. Doesn’t bother me in the tiniest bit though - I’m more worried about certain US politicians than i am about the Chinese
FWIW, I’ve had absolutely no issues with Meta (no FB account needed) and their tech support responds in their forum, with follow-ups. You can lock down your privacy settings while setting up your account. The software is outstanding, updated often, and is stable as hell.
Right now, the 128 GB Quest 2 is $249 in the US. Not sure about other countries, but this is the best deal by far in a VR headset. My kids have one and I just bought 2 more for Christmas gifts. They can stand the beating a 10 year old gives them. In other words, they get the crap beat out of them, and keep on ticking. The hand tracking is really good. They don’t have the hi res peripheral cameras that the Q3 and Q Pro have, but if you want to do mixed reality, you are going to spend 2 x or 3 x the money. My .02.
I hear ya Johnny and neither do I use any social media or messaging apps but I am a liitle less blase’ about the PRC (specifically the CCP), precisely because they (probably) know so much about me…
I also ditched FB/Meta years ago…
But because it seems that my G2 will potentially reach ‘end of life’ before I was expecting or hoping…
The Quest3 is currently at the top of my list when it comes to a replacement…
That sucks, because I’m actually happy with where I’m at right now! Yes, it’s a 1st gen (1.5 gen maybe?) Lenovo Explorer, but for what I’m using it for it’s working out fine.
I don’t like the idea of them removing support in an update. At least ask me first! I’m actively using the software
If I understood correctly, what they will remove is the fact that WMR is included in the Windows OS by default. Doesn’t make sense to shove it out to all users all the time if you’re not going to maintain it.
To facilitate continued use of the headset with the software as-is, a separate download will be made available.
Not 100% sure on the details but the first thing makes sense and if they don’t do the second, they’ll get a lot of justified hate for it.
I agree, it’s not the end of the world (either way). But an upgrade that removes features rather than adding or improving them annoys me so much these days (looking at you Apple!)
So giving my wife my Quest 3 might have been a bit premature! Too late now, she’s picked it up and run with it… She’s using it to learn how to play Piano, plus Beat Saber (of course). I might have to order a second headset.
Too late now, she’s picked it up and run with it… She’s using it to learn how to play Piano, plus Beat Saber (of course). I might have to order a second headset. 