This engineer was on to something that couldn't be sold in a whirlwind press event: the Index difference in the home. I've been testing that angle for nearly a week thanks to an early Index shipment that Valve is letting press discuss in a "preview" capacity—meaning, this is
not a fully fledged review ahead of
the system's June 28 launch (
$999 for the full Index system,
$499 for just the headset without its required "lighthouse" tracking boxes or any controllers). A lot could change in a month.
Instead, this piece revolves around that Valve engineer's implied suggestion: strap into a Valve Index for hours at a time, make it part of my workday, and see the resulting difference. These tests (which include typing the majority of this preview with an Index as my "monitor") have been telling. Valve Index isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is absolutely the first VR system I can use for long periods of time without feeling "VR swimminess." Until someone else shows up with a system that exceeds Index's weaknesses
and capitalizes on its best improvements, I do not see myself switching back to another PC VR headset.