HP has announced that they will be releasing a refresh to their Reverb VR headset. The announcement came on the same day as Half-Life: Alyx – The most anticipated VR Game of the year. Details are lacking form the teaser announcement on HP’s website. The headset is claimed to be “a more immersive, comfortable, and compatible experience” when compared to the Reverb Virtual Reality Headset. Marketing emails from the company claim it to be a “no-compromise VR headset.”
While these claims sound exciting, we hope the “no-compromise” claim doesn’t mean HP feels justified in releasing a VR HMD that approaches the $1,000 mark. The world needs more Oculus Quest competitors, not more Valve Index Competitors. If you can compete against both the Quest and the Index, even better!
The previous generation Reverb has been of the Windows Mixed Reality lineup of VR Headsets. It has stood out as bing a higher resolution display when compared to other WMR HMDs, but still lagging behind the higher-end VR HMDs from the likes of Valve and Pimax.
So, if you are in the market for a new HP Reverb, you should probably hold off until more information is released about this pending “no-compromise’ VR Headset. Or, if you want something that works great, has broad compatibility, and a massive user base, go for something a little more mainstream with an Oculus Quest or a Valve Index.
While the HP Reverb was designed to work with the Windows Mixed Reality platform, it is compatible with Valve’s Steam VR technology – which allows Reverb owners to take advantage of some of best VR Titles available.
This means the Reverb and the teased but in-announced VR HMD from HP will be able to play Half-Life: Alyx, along with all the other popular VR Headsets, Rift, Rift S, Vive, Vive Pro, Vive Cosmos, Valve Index, Pimax, and others.
