At a show that often felt like it barely existed (and that I didn’t attend in person), it’s hard to figure out what CES 2022 really says about the year ahead. However, one trend that started accelerating in 2021 is already in play: VR and smart glasses are on the rise again, thanks in part to the promises of a metaverse-filled future. At a show that insisted on being in-person, though, it’s important to note that unique virtual ways to connect to Vegas remained pretty absent.
For 2022, a trio of big VR products are already looming over this year: Meta’s next-generation VR headset, Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 and Apple’s expected VR/AR device.
Sony revealed the official name and a lot more specs for its upcoming PlayStation 5 compatible VR headset, expected to arrive this year. The PSVR 2 requires a PS5 to work, which already limits how many people could experience it, considering the PS5’s price and still hard-to-buy status. Sony’s headset doesn’t have a price, but it could cost at least as much as the PS5 console itself based on the existing VR hardware prices. The original PSVR launched at $399 in 2016.
The types of smart glasses Qualcomm has been promising are already arriving: last year, Lenovo’s ThinkReality A3 and Nreal Light showed what smaller plug-in AR glasses could do, but the software and inputs (and compatibility with my own glasses prescription) aren’t here yet. TCL is working on its own AR glasses, plus a smaller version of its display-equipped smart glasses I tried last year.
