Google Announces New Standalone, Wireless VR Headset

Earlier this week at CES 2018, HTC announced a more powerful, higher-resolution version of its high-end Vive VR headset, meant to push the upper boundaries of virtual reality even further. But there's also been a big development in the mobile VR space: Google has announced a new headset based on its Daydream VR platform that's fully standalone.

It's called the Mirage Solo, and it was built in conjunction with hardware manufacturer Lenovo. In contrast to Google's first headset, the Daydream View, which required a smartphone, the Mirage Solo is fully standalone and fully wireless.

It has a 110-degree field of view, which puts it ahead of other mobile headsets and brings it into line with the Rift, Vive, and PSVR. It runs on 4GB of RAM and a Qualcomm mobile processor, and Lenovo has built it with cameras and sensors to give it a much higher head-tracking capability than mobile headsets are normally capable of. It also has a 1440p screen and 64GB of internal storage.

The Mirage Solo will compete head-to-head with Oculus Go, Facebook's own fully standalone headset. However, the Oculus Go is coming out at a much lower price range: Facebook is targeting $200 for the headset, while the Mirage Solo will likely cost around $400 in the US. Lenovo and Google's headset is currently scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2018.