Competitors like Apple and Meta are pulling up the slack left by Valve, with the latter providing stellar VR experiences at a more modest price point.
In April 2019, Valve launched the Valve Index, a premium spec and priced VR headset which some could call the gold standard for VR. However, we are now four years on with no sign of an official update or price change for the headset. Subsequently, competitors like Apple and Meta are pulling up the slack left by Valve, with the former providing stellar VR experiences at a more modest price point. Given this, the question becomes whether the market is ready for premium VR and whether Valve could be cooking something behind the scenes.
Despite not being the best headset on paper, the Valve Index, touting its impressive dual 1400×1600 LCD displays at 120Hz, was still regarded as a game changer. The headset itself, costing $499, also incorporates two solid speakers to blast audio at you and a comfortable headband. The real magic, however, lived with the new knuckles controllers, included in the full $999 kit, that allowed users to manipulate their fingers individually in VR. It was, and still is, wild to see. This opened a whole new set of VR experiences and levels of immersion. These features were showcased by Half-Life: Alyx, though it was not necessary to have the new controllers to play the game.
