Virtual reality (VR), something to only dream about or experience in major movies not too long ago! Now you can go to a local store, or online, and pick up a VR headset within minutes, with prices ranging from anywhere between $5 to $1500 the quality and performance of your device will be very much down to how much you’re willing to spend on it.
With more and more major companies starting to look at VR as the future of technology and deciding to invest a lot of money and time into making their devices better, and cheaper than others which can only be a good thing for customers! Anyway, let us get to the 3 key points that you need to know about VR going into the future and how it could affect your life!
RELATED – IEEE recently announced new Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) standards projects.
#1 It’s a whole different way to view the world
No matter where you want to go, whether it’s the top of Mount Everest, or the middle of a battlefield, you can do so in the comfort of your own home thanks to virtual reality. We know it’s not the same, but you don’t have to spend a fortune traveling around the world visiting different places as you can simply view most landmarks through your headset! You can even go on incredible trips, ski down mountains in France, go to live concerts or even re-visiting your own favorite memories (if you have the right recording equipment)!
More people are starting to realize just how good VR is and are getting their own headsets. Whether this is because you can now pick up the cheap yet effective device in the Google cardboard which costs you under $10 (as long as you have a relatively new smartphone); or because major companies have decided to join the craze. Virtual Reality Hire companies are also on the rise, which just shows the demand that has grown for VR. Everyone wants to see what the fuss is about.
#2 The future looks bright!
Since breaking onto the scene virtual reality has only grown in popularity and its hopes to continue expanding around the world and growing its audience by the day! Although the industry has not seen as much growth as expected at the start of 2017, it’s still been growing and will continue to for the foreseeable future. Because companies such as Samsung and Sony have joined the market, consumers can look forward to more and more new innovative models at competitive prices flooding the market. This will hopefully persuade other electronic manufacturers to join the battle.
In the year of 2016, the market for VR was worth just under 2 Billion Dollars, yes 2 Billion! But that’s just a fraction of what is predicted to be the worth in 2020, which is a massive $22.4 billion, more than 10 times the current figure! But if you also think about the money and investment that VR will bring in you’re looking at a truly astonishing figure of around 121 Billion Dollars! We can see why everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie now, there’s plenty to go around! For consumers, the future will bring better games, devices, videos, prices and much more. We will just have to wait and see whether or not VR reaches its full potential.
#3 This could be the future of entertainment
At the moment if you want to play a video game, that is fun and lets you get lost in a different world, you would need to buy a console, TV, controller, probably need an internet connection for most of the game’s features and much more! With a VR headset, all of your entertainment can be found in one place! If you want to watch a movie or play a game both can be done in a whole new immersive world that will truly amaze anybody who’s willing to have a go. Although we must admit there are a lot of improvements to be made, we are excited to find out what you’ll be able to do using your VR device in a couple of years! Could you imagine going home to be part of a film instead of watching one? Well, that could be a normal thing to do in the foreseeable future.
It doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve used a VR device before, we are certain that you will enjoy the experience and continue using your headset for years to come! Although we would recommend you purchase a cheaper model and see if you like it before forking out hundreds of dollars for a top of the line headset.
About the Author
Stephen G Davies MSc writes about marketing, technology, and covers product reviews for global firms. Stephen has written for digital agencies, e-zines and maintains a passion for updating a number of his own blogs. Writer by day, reader by night, Stephen enjoys being aware of what drives technology in the 21st century and is passionate about related topics.