Technologies

PSVR 2 vs. Quest 2: Which Should You Buy, or Should You Wait?

Two very different VR headsets compared — and you may also want to wait for the inevitable Quest 3.

Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 is the PlayStation 5’s first dedicated VR headset, but 2023 is just getting started. With Meta’s Quest 3 expected by the end of the year and Apple’s unknown VR/AR headset expected to make an appearance as well, this isn’t necessarily the best time to get a VR headset. But we love a lot of what the PSVR 2 offers, even if it’s currently limited to a smaller game library and needs a wired connection to a PS5.

The Quest 2 is the most successful VR headset, although it’s over two years old. Here’s how these two devices differ and what each is best at. My colleague Justin Eastzer and I deeply discussed the topic in the video embedded in this story.

For more, read CNET’s PSVR 2 review and Quest 2 review, and check out our favorite Quest 2 games and PSVR 2 games.

Read more: Best VR Headsets of 2023

Hardware: Standalone vs. cabled

The Quest 2 is a fully self-contained VR game system; nothing else is required. For its $399 (£399, AU$630) price, that’s a huge advantage that other competitors are still trying to match.

The $550 (£530, AU$880) PlayStation VR 2, meanwhile, is tethered to a nearly 15-foot cable that needs to be plugged into a PlayStation 5. It doesn’t work on its own at all. It’s really a headset extension of your PS5.

That difference in design makes a bigger impact than you might think. The Quest 2’s portability also means it’s an easy headset to set up for full-motion VR gaming and fitness games and apps. Games like Beat Saber, and fitness apps like Supernatural, are some of the best things you can do on the headset.

The PSVR 2’s cable is long, and it feels heavy. The one-cable setup and its self-contained in-headset camera-based tracking are a lot easier to set up than the original PSVR was, but it’ll still need to live wherever your PS5 lives, and makes the PSVR 2 a better sit-down or stand-in-place experience than a full-motion one.

The back of two VR headsets, looking at the lenses, sitting on a green table — The Quest 2 (left) is more compact, but has less impressive graphics and optics. The PSVR 2 fits my glasses better, is comfier, but it’s bigger.

Scott Stein/CNET

Displays and audio: PSVR 2 has a big edge, mostly

The Quest 2’s LCD-based display is pretty sharp (1,832×1,920 pixels per eye), but the PSVR 2’s 2,000×2,040 pixel-per-eye HDR OLED display is higher res, more vivid and has much better contrast and black levels. Colors are bright and rich. On top of that, the PSVR 2’s ability to drive PS5-quality graphics means games have greater detail than the Quest 2. The latter uses an integrated Snapdragon XR2 mobile processor that’s less powerful, although the Quest 2 can be tethered to a gaming PC, which lets it play higher-end games similarly to the PS5.

PSVR 2 and Quest 2 headsets, seen looking down on a green table — The PSVR 2 (right) can adjust its distance from your face, but its visor design is bulkier.

Scott Stein/CNET

The Quest 2 has speakers that pump 3D audio near your ears but still lets other sounds in, which is bad for cinematic experiences but good for hearing kids or alarms — handy when absorbed in VR. It also has a headphone jack. The PSVR 2 has included earbuds for 3D audio but no speakers, which means you’re far more isolated when listening to audio. The earbuds sound OK, but Sony’s wireless Pulse 3D over-ear headphones (sold separately) offer better sound. The PSVR 2 has a headphone jack too, just like the Quest 2.

The PSVR 2 also adds an extra couple of immersive wrinkles. The headset uses eye tracking to boost graphics quality where your eyes are looking via foveated rendering technology. The headset also has rumble, which sounds gimmicky but can feel like an extension of bass vibrations in-game, adding an overlap between sound and immersive sensation.

Two VR controllers (Quest 2 and PSVR 2) on a green background — The Quest 2 Touch controller (left) and PSVR 2 Sense controller: Similar button/stick/trigger layout, but the PSVR 2 has better haptics and force feedback, while the Quest 2 has better finger sensing off-button.

Scott Stein/CNET

Controllers and input: PSVR 2 has better haptics and eye tracking, Quest 2 has hand tracking

The PSVR 2 and Quest 2 have the same type of controller design, mostly: VR headsets have settled on buttons, analog sticks, triggers and grips that are pretty consistent across the board. The PSVR 2 Sense controllers have much better vibration feedback and even force-feedback «adaptive triggers» that offer resistance in some games. These are features the PS5 DualSense controller already has, but they feel a lot richer in VR than the Quest 2’s pretty basic buzzing. The PSVR 2 also uses eye tracking to add additional controls in some games, letting you glance at objects to select them, potentially improving accuracy.

The Quest 2 has better finger awareness when holding the controllers, sensing when your fingers are on or off, or even resting on the buttons or triggers. This awareness can create sensations that feel like hand tracking. The PSVR 2 doesn’t do this nearly as well yet. Also, the Quest 2 can do actual hand tracking without needing any controllers. This input type isn’t perfect, but it can be helpful… and the PSVR 2 doesn’t do this at all (yet).

psvr2-vs-quest2-controllertriggers — The PSVR 2’s triggers (right) have pressurized force feedback you can feel, which gives an edge for some games.

Scott Stein/CNET

Software: Quest 2 has a huge advantage (for now), PSVR 2 has some standouts

The Quest 2’s software library covers hundreds of games, productivity and design apps, fitness apps, meditation apps and social world apps. There are also plenty of free apps and games. The Quest platform has been around since 2019, giving it a big lead time. The PSVR 2 is starting from scratch. The hardware isn’t automatically backward-compatible with original PSVR games. Although many of those games are getting PSVR 2 upgrades, it means waiting for the updates to happen, if they do at all.

For now, the PSVR 2 is also skipping entire genres found on the Quest 2. The PSVR 2 is all games, as you’d expect. There should be a few fitness apps (Les Mills Body Combat is already available) but no social world apps. That might be comforting for parents with younger kids, but it leaves out extra uses you could get from the still-evolving Quest 2.

Additionally, most of the PSVR 2 launch games are ports of games on the Quest 2. Only a few are unique standouts that the Quest 2 natively lacks: notably Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, Resident Evil Village and No Man’s Sky, with more coming.

PSVR 2 and Quest 2 facing each other on a green background — The PSVR 2 (right) has eye tracking and more adjustable eye distance, or IPD, while the Quest 2 lacks eye tracking and has only three IPD settings.

Scott Stein/CNET

Price: Quest 2 has the edge

The $399 all-in value of the Quest 2 is a big advantage here. The PSVR 2 is more expensive at $550, and you still need the PS5, making it a $1,000-plus investment. But the Quest 2 is getting old, and a Quest 3 will likely come later this year that you should hold off for.

psvr2-vs-quest2-controllerheadset — Scott Stein/CNET

Yes, you should wait

Now is the time to wait and see what comes for VR. The Quest 3, expected by the end of the year, should be a clear upgrade over the nearly three-year-old Quest 2, and there’s a chance that many more games (and even a holiday bundle) will upgrade the PSVR 2 experience by year’s end. If you can, I’d hang on and see what the situation looks like for both Meta and Sony in the fall.

If you already have a Quest 2, the PSVR 2 doesn’t offer enough yet to make the switch. And if you’re a PS5 owner who doesn’t mind spending a bunch of money on new tech, the PSVR 2 is already a fun experience, just one we can’t quite get a future sense of yet.

Fitbit Launches Luffu, AI-Powered Health Tracking for the Whole Family

Soon, you may be able to access every family member’s health data in one place.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to keep all of your family’s health records in place, Fitbit may have come up with a solution. Fitbit, well-known for its fitness wearables, announced the launch of its own health care system on Wednesday.

Luffu, which translates to the Old English word for «love,» uses AI to create what it calls an «intelligent family care system.» The platform allows family members to share all their health information through an app.

It’s unclear when Luffu will be officially available, but you can sign up for the waitlist to get access to the limited public beta. Pricing or other details have not been announced.

Luffu will allow families to keep track of everyone’s doctor’s appointments, test results, vaccine records, medications, symptoms, diet and more. The platform uses AI to learn your family’s health history and patterns, and to alert you to any changes that should be addressed, such as missed medications or abnormal vitals. The AI function organizes the data submitted into the system. The app will also connect to third-party apps and wearables, such as the Fitbit.

Luffu is meant to lighten the mental load of family care by organizing all this health data in one place, its co-founder said.

«I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom’s health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get a complete, timely context from her about doctor visits,» said Luffu co-founder James Park.

Luffu will include alerts and a space to log health and medication information via voice, text, photos, and other health portals and devices. The key medical information can be shared across the platform with spouses, caregivers and parents.

A representative for Fitbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

These New AI Transcription Models Are Built for Speed and Privacy

Mistral AI’s new Voxtral Mini Transcribe 2 and Voxtral Realtime are intended to run on your device, meaning your conversations never find their way to a data center.

Sometimes you want to transcribe something, but don’t want it to be hanging out on the internet for any hacker to see. Maybe it’s a conversation with your doctor or lawyer. Maybe you’re a journalist, and it’s a sensitive interview. Privacy and control are important.

That desire for privacy is one reason the French developer Mistral AI built its latest transcription models to be small enough to run on devices. They can run on your phone, on your laptop or in the cloud.

Voxtral Mini Transcribe 2, one of the new models announced Wednesday, is «super, super small,» Pierre Stock, Mistral’s vice president of science operations, told me. Another new model, Voxtral Realtime, can do the same thing but live, like closed captioning.

Privacy is not the only reason the company wanted to build small open-source models. By running right on the device you’re using, these models can work faster. No more waiting on files to find their way through the internet to a data center and back.

«What you want is the transcription to happen super, super close to you,» Stock said. «And the closest we can find to you is any edge device, so a laptop, a phone, a wearable like a smartwatch, for instance.»

The low latency (read: high speed) is especially important for real-time transcription. The Voxtral Realtime model can generate with a latency of less than 200 milliseconds, Stock said. It can transcribe a speaker’s words about as quickly as you can read them. No more waiting two or three seconds for the closed captioning to catch up.

The Voxtral Realtime model is available through Mistral’s API and on Hugging Face, along with a demo where you can try it out.

In some brief testing, I found it generated fairly quickly (although not as fast as you’d expect if it were on device) and managed to capture what I said accurately in English with a little bit of Spanish mixed in. It’s capable of handling 13 languages right now, according to Mistral.

Voxtral Mini Transcribe 2 is also available through the company’s API, or you can play around with it in Mistral’s AI Studio. I used the model to transcribe my interview with Stock.

I found it to be quick and pretty reliable, although it struggled with proper names like Mistral AI (which it called Mr. Lay Eye) and Voxtral (VoxTroll). Yes, the AI model got its own name wrong. But Stock said users can customize the model to understand certain words, names and jargon better if they’re using it for specific tasks.

The challenge of building small, fast AI models is that they also have to be accurate, Stock said. The company touted the models’ performance on benchmarks showing improved error rates compared to competitors.

«It’s not enough to say, OK, I’ll make a small model,» Stock said. «What you need is a small model that has the same quality as larger models, right?»

Technologies

Don’t Miss Out on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $25 Per Month

With this StackSocial offer, you’re getting access to hundreds of games for either $25 for one month or $74 for three months.

Right now at StackSocial, you can get a three-month membership for just $74, which brings each month to $25. Normally $30 per month, you can also opt for a single-month plan for $25. I’ve been following Xbox Game Pass pricing for a while, so this is a great deal. Just keep in mind, once you get your download code via email, the purchase cannot be changed or returned.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate lets you access games not only on your console but also on a PC or mobile device. Basically, you can play what you want, when you want, where you want. Game Pass adds new games all the time, with not only older titles making their way to the service but also brand-new Xbox games, including releases from Microsoft’s own studios on the day of release.

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a brilliant way to save cash while playing fantastic games, including Black Ops 6, Halo: Infinite, Hellblade 2, Starfield and tons more. While the lineup changes each month, more than 500 games are available to play. It’s the closest thing to a Netflix for games.

Please note that Microsoft allows prepayment for up to 36 months of access, so 12 is the maximum number of subscriptions you should purchase. You can check out our full roundup of all the best Xbox deals for more savings on games and accessories.

Why this deal matters

The last time we saw the Game Pass subscription discounted was around the holiday season. Right now, you can get access to hundreds of games for essentially the price of one. Whether you choose the one- or three-month option, the price is the same at $25 per month. Since most games aren’t usually priced below $25, this is a steal.