There are still plenty of people who are yet to experience virtual reality despite the tech having been readily available for almost a decade.
But, with Christmas fast approaching, the chances are someone you know may want a pair of VR goggles, especially if they’re a seasoned gamer ready to venture beyond consoles.
Whether you’re considering buying a headset for yourself or your child, or you just want to know what the fuss is about, there’s now a place where you can go hands-on with the fledgling tech for free.
EE has added a playground for mixed-reality toys in its flagship White City store in Westfield, London. The 4,230 sq ft space, which opened this summer, already has a gaming zone featuring powerful PC rigs and ultra-realistic racing simulators.
Now, EE is making it even more immersive by offering more than 21 VR and mixed-reality demos. Visitors can slip on powerful headsets like the Meta Quest 3, a completely wireless device that can put you in fully virtual environments and blend digital holograms with the real world.
Don’t be surprised if the kids are begging you for one this Christmas after trying it out at a mate's house. With a cheaper (but largely identical) version called the Meta Quest 3S landing next week, now’s the ideal time to give it a go.
For serious gamers, there’s also Sony’s PS VR2 headset, which packs exclusive titles with jaw-dropping visuals that you can’t play elsewhere. Once you slay the towering robotic beasts in Horizon Call of the Mountain or race supercars in Gran Turismo 7, you may never want to go back to console games again.
Alongside the familiar headsets, EE has also stocked some lesser known gadgets for work and play. Chief among these are a range of lightweight smart glasses, like the TCL Nxtwear S+ and Xreal Air 2, that let you watch films, play games and finish those spreadsheets on a massive virtual screen.
Social media addicts and budding content creators, meanwhile, can try the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. Not only are they the only pair of shades that won't have people gawking at you in public, but they can also capture and livestream video directly to Instagram. Plus, they can make phone calls, read out your notifications, and play music through their “open-ear” speakers.
With all those perks, they may wind up replacing your AirPods – and maybe even your phone once their upcoming AI features go live.
The EE store has all the VR bases covered bar one. Apple’s mixed-reality headset, the ultra-pricey Apple Vision Pro, is still only available to try and buy through Apple. Luckily, there’s an Apple Store just around the corner from the EE store in Westfield. And, if you book ahead, you can compare it on the same day.
Despite that glaring omission, there’s still plenty of fun to be had with EE’s gadget line-up. Not everyone will be comfortable splashing upwards of £300 without a second thought. At least now you can take the tech for a test drive to see if it lives up to the hype.
