I have been trying VR headphones for years, but before a recent trip from London to Miami, I had never taken one with me on a flight, and until some key things change, I will probably never take one with me, according to my experience.
Normally I adore my Quest 3 goal: I think everyone should possess one, or a Quest 3S goal, given how excellent these virtual reality machines for their price, and having seen stories of the goal success by offering them an entertainment to flow in the Lufthansa airlines, I thought it would have an excellent time flying with one also.
However, my problems began before taking off; In fact, they started before I left home.
What would I download?
Verification of the finishing application store I was surprised not to find a category of ‘flight approval’ that would easily provide me software recommendations. And looking for movies was much more a challenge of what I expected.
While the search admits transmission platforms such as Netflix, the browser (instead of applications based) reveals that it shows its failures clearly. In this way, it is an online only service, since it is impossible to download content to see later out of line, as you can with the application of the phone.
Finally obtained a digital copy of Avengers: Final of the game In 3D, but it was not a process without problems, far from it. I also found a mixed reality chess game that I thought could be fun, without realizing that it was a title only online until I was in the air.
After my food had been served and the seat belt sign had been turned off to be able to look for it in my stored bag, I put my mission 3 and dive into the metavele, armed with my limited selection of entertainment.
Avengers: Final of the game It was excellent. Not only the film itself (I have not seen it since the launch of midnight years ago and I had forgotten how great it was) but the general experience.
He had installed Bigscreen, a free application that transports it to different film screen environments to watch movies, but ended up using the TV goal application in mixed mode of reality.
I could mitigate my surroundings and expand the screen, so I felt as if I was in my own private cinema, but I did not turn off my environment, so I could pay attention if a hostess passed with food or drink.
It was leagues ahead of the Dinky screen installed in my seat where I would have had to trust for entertainment in another way.
Not being in VR also helped during turbulence. Because I could see the world of the real world thanks to the transmission by Mr. Passthrough, I did not feel particularly nausea during the test, something that I suspect would not be the case if I had been in VR.
Now for my problems
Leaving aside the software selection, my next major concern was the battery life. I could see an hour of Final game Actually mixed using just less than 50% of the battery life of my Quest 3.
With a load cable and an energy bank, I could extend this time of use, but trust only in Quest 3 since entertainment on board for a long trip would clearly be a challenge.
I could mitigate this with a complement as one of the Kiwi Design Batters that I have reviewed, but then I would meet the following problem: the bag space.
The luggage space in an airline reaches a premium, and filling its reception with a fully equipped VR headset configuration is a start. Then I replaced the voluminous battery strap with the most compact (and less functional) elastic strap.
This reduced the space that Quest 3 occupied considerably, but was not yet compact, especially with the controllers.
With these battery and space problems in mind, it seems that a VR headset would be ideal for a shorter trip (less than four hours) in which he is fighting for the luggage space through the cellar and the cabin, so carrying the headphones would not be a problem.
I must also keep in mind that I was flying in the Virgin Atlantic Economy Economy section, instead of the standard economy, and the only seat next to me was vacant. In addition, I was sitting at the front of the section, in a seat with extra leg space, so I had a lot of space to move.
In a rather full economic seat, I could see that the movements of my arm are annoying for any unpleasant stranger to sit next to me, making VR too little practical (and risky) to be viable outside the most premium classes. The mixed reality would be more practical, but it is also more a battery sink, as I discovered.
Despite these problems, I could see how close the goal is Quest 3 of greatness and how the flight experience could be improved with some updates.
The most subtle movement controls (such as those used by Apple Vision Pro) would eliminate the risk of hitting an innocent passenger with my arm agades.
A larger built battery would also be ideal, as well as a simpler way to find and download movies on the headphones.
The cinematographic experience of the big screen, especially with a 3D film, was really fantastic, and only serves to highlight why goal and others must do more to improve this aspect of virtual reality, since finding even a 3D movie was a great discomfort.
And the use of the headphones, even mixed, helped me forget that I was on a flight. I am not an especially nervous steering wheel, but I will admit feeling a little tense while I was in the air, and that tension was remarkably absent when I used my mission 3.
So, although I will not take my headphones on my next long distance flight, I can see a future in which I become my travel device. For now, however, he will stay at home, and I will take my glasses AR.
