Vive Pro 2 Headset Review

The Vive Pro 2 offers one of the best VR experiences currently available. Thanks to the multiple sensors placed around your play area, as well as great design, the Vive Pro 2 offers an unparalleled level of immersion. To determine this, we ran this headset, alongside its competition, through a battery of tests, analyzing the levels of interactivity and immersion, comfort, user-friendliness, and ease of setup. And what these metrics showed is that the Vive Pro 2 is truly a premium product.

Performance Comparison

Interactiveness

The Vive Pro 2 separates itself from most of the competition right off the bat, showing top marks in our interactiveness metric. With great tracking and the possibility for massive play spaces, this VR Headset offers a premium level of interactivity.

The Vive Pro 2 offers numerous options to accommodate different playstyles, with capabilities that allow control options via handheld VR controllers for active gaming, or Xbox and PlayStation controllers hooked up to your computer. Those who are wary about the VR controllers because of poor motion tracking experiences in the past need not be, as both general and controller tracking were excellent throughout our testing process. So long as the necessary sensors have been installed, we never had an issue with motion tracking.

Room limitations offer another shining depiction of the Vive Pro 2. Gamers looking for the full play area experience will require a minimum of 2m x 1.5m (6' 6" x 5'), but after that, only a warehouse is the limit. With four base stations, the maximum play area that can be generated is 10m x 10m (32' 10" x 32' 10") allowing for heavily immersive, large-scale experiences. However, if you are merely looking for a VR headset to immerse yourself in, the Vive Pro 2 does not require a play area for seated/standing usage.

Visual Immersiveness

The Vive Pro 2 continues to highlight its impressive capabilities in our metric gauging visual immersiveness. Great resolution, field of view, and more all speak to the incredibly immersive simulation which this VR headset provides.

Boasting a 2488 X 2488 pixels per eye, the Vive Pro 2 offers a gorgeous visual experience. However, our testers recommended a good rule of thumb: If your computer only meets the minimum requirements for a game's visual components, the Vive Pro 2 will noticeably suffer from lowered resolution. That being said, most gaming computers will have this issue very infrequently. Our field of view (FOV) tests on this VR headset showcases a 120-degree presentation that offers an immersion without a cramped feeling. Great resolution and an excellent FOV come together very nicely with impressive viewing quality, guaranteeing any Vive Pro 2 user a majestic experience.

Outside of the visuals, the Vive Pro 2 does an impressive job filtering out external light. Our testers only found the light seal to be broken by those who had larger noses. Even then, however, the amount of light that came in was incredibly minimal. Positively, the light seal was not broken when our testers wore glasses inside of the Vive Pro 2.

Comfort

Coming down off its hot streak, the Vive Pro 2 suffers a little in our comfort metric. We must say, comfort is a common weakness among VR headsets. Although decidedly our most comfortable headset, our testers still found some aspects of this headset's comfort to be lacking when compared to others. But, the Vive Pro 2 does offer nice accommodations for glasses.

Although the Vive Pro 2 offers up a visual feast, it is not the most comfortable device. Extended wearing of this two-pound headset does start to feel like there is just dead weight on your face. Along with the weight, one tester found the fuzzy fabric on the Vive Pro 2 to be somewhat uncomfortable. The fuzziness against bare skin causes some discomfort, and the fabric very quickly becomes warm. Although this headset does keep cooler than others, the warm fabric is a downside. The foam on the headset, although keeping relatively cool, feels a little too squishy against the face. Our testers repeatedly felt like they needed to crank down the headset excessively to keep the foam staying in place.

Where the Vive Pro 2 does deserve some credit, however, is the comfort level it provides to users wearing glasses. There are divots over the temples on the headset to accommodate glasses, and our testers found them to be very effective in ensuring that the spectacled user did not have unnecessary pressure on the skull. Onboard the Vive Pro 2 there is a button to readjust the lens distance, allowing more space to be produced. All this being said, user experience is still very much reliant on the size of the glasses. Although our testers didn't have any issues, glasses with larger frames could very likely offer less comfortable experiences than smaller or thinner glasses.

User Friendliness

The Vive Pro 2 does better in terms of user-friendliness, falling roughly in the middle of its competitors. It really shines with integrated headphones and not-in-the-way button locations, but our testers periodically found some issues with the focusing sensor.

With integrated headphones, the Vive Pro 2 provides an all-in-one immersion experience. Offering decent padding, 30 degrees of rotation, and a comfortable movement both popping out and sliding up/down, these headphones avail themselves to a variety of scenarios and playstyles. Another aspect our testers liked about the Vive Pro 2 was the convenient, but not in the way, placement of onboard controls. The knob to regulate the interpupillary distance (IPD), the distance between your pupils, and a lens depth button are conveniently tucked away, ensuring that you won't accidentally hit them and interfere with a gaming session.

While the Vive Pro 2 is mostly a pick-up-and-play VR headset, our testers were sometimes slowed by the system's focusing. With a few instances of random IPD changes upon starting up, it took some time to be able to hop into the virtual world. However, once everything was primed and in focus, our testers didn't have further issues.

Ease of Setup

The Vive Pro 2 suffers the most in our Ease of Setup metric, in no small part that premium devices such as this one require a little bit more out of the user. Multi-sensor installation is a must to ensure the high-quality experience which this headset offers. Before anything else, any prospective purchaser of the Vive Pro 2 needs to know that a high-performance PC is a necessity. Our VR Headset Buying Advice can help determine if your current computer is up to the task.

Once you have the hardware sorted out, there is an extended installation process for the Vive Pro 2, involving sensor hookups around your gaming area. There are three available options: tri-pods, wall mounts, and the new clamps. Once you've plugged in all the required items for the link box, including the headset, and linked the controllers, the hardware should be set up and good to go.

The Vive Pro 2's software setup is relatively straightforward. An included instructions sheet helps lead you through the process. As with most VR headsets, there is a required quick calibration of the floor, as well as a process to draw your room's play area. Our testers really liked that the headset did not need to be worn during this calibration process, saving them from blindly walking into furniture or walls.

Value

The Vive Pro 2 is indisputably a premium product. Outperforming every other VR headset we tested, this one really distinguishes itself with fantastic tracking and high-quality visuals. If top performance is what you're looking for, then look no further than the Vive Pro 2. But, those shopping on a budget can find a very satisfying headset for half the price (or less).

Conclusion

Blowing us away with gorgeous visuals and deep immersion, the Vive Pro 2 is easily our recommendation for those seeking the best VR experience available today. Although burdened by a hefty price, this incredible experience should be seriously considered by those looking for a top-of-the-line entry into the world of VR headsets.