We have known for several months now that LG is planning to follow in HTC's footsteps by releasing its very own SteamVR headset. Now it seems we could be edging closer towards a launch, as the headset was recently spotted being shown off at an event in South Korea.
The folks over at Silicon Valley Virtual Reality were recently attending the Korean VR Festival, snapping an image of LG's upcoming SteamVR HMD, as well as two motion controllers.
Just tried the LG SteamVR HMD with the flip-up screen @ #KVRF, it's fantastic! Can't wait for the release version pic.twitter.com/wXMC0mQw9e
— #SVVR (@SVVRLIVE) September 18, 2017
According to the tweet, this particular headset uses a flip up screen, which is a feature other VR headset makers have yet to explore. The motion controllers on the other hand look very different from the ones found on the Vive or Oculus Rift. LG is sticking to the wand design but overall, the controllers are much more angular and almost resemble bar code scanners.
At this point, development kits for LG's VR headset are out in the wild, though an official launch unveiling has yet to be set. We will likely be waiting until 2018 and if LG is looking to capitalise on SteamVR, then the company may decide to wait a bit longer for Valve to finish working on its new ‘Knuckles' controllers, as well as the more efficient/cheaper base stations.
KitGuru Says: Oculus and HTC have been leaders in the PC gaming VR market for the last year and a bit. However, there is plenty of serious competition now just on the horizon. 2018 is going to be very interesting for VR adoption in particular. Are many of you currently looking into getting a VR headset? What would it take for you to make the jump?
Is this there already discussed standalone headset ala gear vr/Asus or a proper vive replacement?
it looks to be a proper headset since it’s supposed to be a SteamVR device, so a HTC Vive with better resolution? better price? better controller? Let’s see, the more headsets are coming out the better it’s going to be for all consumers
Looks wireless
the technology to drive a HMD without any cables is available, they just have to integrate it.
I’ll be interested when I don’t have to fork out the best part of 2 grand to play 3-4 shite games.