Hard-core PC VR fans may have become accustomed to the seemingly endless array of connection chimes, requests for software downloads and updates, firmware installs, and things just not working quite right at first (or ever), but all of these factors are friction points for regular people. In contrast with Quest, the several-year-old PSVR, and even Oculus’ Rift S, it was a pain. Over the last week, I went through the latest PC setup process for a VR headset that shall remain unnamed for the time being. Consumers tend to take for granted that it “just works” right out of the box, but as Facebook has made clear over the last year (and again on stage at Oculus Connect 6), a lot of work went into making the experience frictionless. For roughly the same price as a PSVR and PlayStation 4, users give up the power of a full-fledged console or PC to get something that works wirelessly anywhere, almost instantly. When Oculus Quest arrived earlier this year as a standalone VR platform, many people (including me) viewed it as a nice middle ground between forgettable Gear VR smartphone-dependent headsets and stronger tethered alternatives such as Sony’s PlayStation VR. After testing their latest headsets, I can fully understand why both consumer and enterprise VR developers are actively preparing to sidestep PC VR in favor of other solutions. Leading PC VR developers Oculus and HTC are now effectively on their second generations of PC hardware, and while both tried to eliminate as much cable tangle and software confusion as possible, they’re still saddled with legacy PC interfaces and challenges. In the PC VR world, PCs themselves have become the biggest remaining source of friction. As the enemy of smoothness, friction is the collection of factors that keep an experience from being effortless, fun, or “magical” in Apple parlance Polaroid cameras famously demonstrated how frictionless products become mainstream hits based on ease of use rather than raw specs. “Friction” is the word tech companies now use to acknowledge software and hardware pain points - typically at the point they’re planning to reduce or eliminate them. Hear from top leaders discuss topics surrounding AL/ML technology, conversational AI, IVA, NLP, Edge, and more. Join executives from July 26-28 for Transform's AI & Edge Week.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |