After years of waiting and endless rumours, Magic Leap is finally out in the market. People have been anticipating it for so long that it has set their expectations above the par. It is an augmented reality headset lets you play games with your surrounding as the stage set for it.
How does it work?
Magic leap comes with a pair of goggles that are extremely light in weight. The goggles are connected with a disc-shaped Nvidia powered micro PC running a Tegra X2 processor. The equipment is very easy to handle as the processor can clip to your pants pocket. Moreover, it has a wireless one-handed controller that you can use to control it. The controller has a trigger, home, a shoulder button and a circular pad with LED lights.
The headset is made an easy fit for all head sizes. The company is currently offering the headset in two sizes with different eye distances. Magic leap also comes with 5 swappable nose pieces to support the headset.
What the headset can do
Magic Leap is capable of turning images of the surrounding in 3D from 14 inches away. You can experience a 3D version of your surroundings. You can play Dr. Grodbort’s Invaders (a robot shooting game). Multiple screens can be displayed simultaneously.
In-depth Focus
You can also view different objects at a depth which your VR can’t do. It comes with multiple focuses. You can focus objects from distance.
Eye gaze tracking
The headset also offers eye gaze tracking. Whether you want to use it or not is up to you. Eye gaze tracking is the next big thing in VR and can completely revolutionize the motion control. Imagine using your eyes to control the motion of things, amazing right?
Battery life
The headset comes with Lithium-ion battery inside which charges through a 45-watt USB-C charger. Its battery life is 3 hours which is better than 2 hours life for VR sets.
Specifications
- 128GB storage (95GB available for apps)
- 8GB RAM (4GB available to apps)
- Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11ac/b/g/n, and USB-C
Its Price and availability
The complete AR headset costs $2,295 which is a lot more VR headsets available in the market (except for Microsoft HoloLens).
You can get an extra cable along with rapid replacement service which can provide a rapid replacement of the device within 24 hours by paying $495 above the price.
Unfortunately, the headset is only available in the US and that also in certain areas. It is currently sold only in six cities of the US; New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco (Bay area) and Seattle. The company has announced that it will be adding more areas to its delivery service and until then you can reserve a headset so that you can get your hands on one when the delivery is available for your area.
Magic Leap is not as great as other VRs
We think that the headset is over-hyped without a second thought. Magic Leap’s One Field of View (FOV) is very limited. Its aspect ratio is 4:3 which means it gives a 40 degrees horizontal, 30 degrees vertical and 50 degrees diagonal view. This leaves its viewing area to be much smaller than the VR headsets currently available.
Since it is an AR, we believe Magic Leap was made to have the surrounding view as its place set. But clearly, the blindfolded back-screen with the complete focus on the VR screen instead of the intermixing of reality with Virtual reality is what people like more. It feels more like a flaw than a feature.
Moreover, sources with hands-on experience of the headset tell, the text sometimes glows around the edges and gets illegibly blurry. This kills the feel of an augmented reality completely.
Magic Leap can’t be used with your specs. Unlike VR headsets, it can’t fit over your glasses. So if you wear glasses, you will have to buy prescription pop-in lenses from Magic leap. Also, the headset is not for an everyday use. It is sold via a service called LiftOff that delivers the device itself and sets it up in your home.
Do we suggest it?
The headset is expensive, we all agree on that. To top it all, the experience it offers may be unique in certain aspects but still isn’t a thrill ride. The equipment needs a few improvements and a few more features to make the customers buy a total worth. You would not want to spend $2,295 for a just above an average experience.
If you are thinking of getting one for yourself, we suggest you wait until its updated and improved version is available in the market.
Until then, happy VRing!
