Lenovo Mirage Solo

Lenovo’s Mirage Solo is poised to send the mobile VR scene for a loop. First seen at CES 2018, it’s the first Google Daydream standalone headset to hit store shelves, meaning you don’t need a compatible smartphone to insert into it. All you need is the headset itself, which happens to be much more capable than what any phone can provide today.

In close collaboration with Google, the Mirage Solo features WorldSense, its six degrees-of-freedom technology that lets you move around in a virtual world as if you’re really there.

Essentially, there’s a flagship smartphone packed inside of the Mirage Solo. That, combined with inside-out positional tracking, not only makes Daydream apps and games that are available now even better, but it blasts away the gates that have previously kept mobile VR from being more interactive, like PC users currently enjoy with the HTC Vive.

The Mirage Solo is almost like the lovechild of the PSVR headset and the Google Daydream View, combining their sheer simplicity in design with impressive functionality that enhances the VR experience during marathon sessions. Given that all of the hardware is stuffed into the headset itself, the comfort yielded here is remarkable, but expected since PSVR employs a similar solution of front-loading the weight of the Mirage Solo on the top of your forehead.

A twisting knob brings the headset around your skull, making it fully adjustable – friendly even to those who wear glasses. On front of the headset, there are two cameras, which undoubtedly will be used to merge Google’s AR and VR aspirations.

Moving around the device, one side plays host to a power button and a microSD slot that’s handy for loading VR180 videos captured by the Lenovo Mirage Camera. Around to the other end, you have your volume controls and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Loaded with the Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and Daydream OS, the Mirage Solo is ready to get down with the latest and greatest VR apps and games – even those that aren’t out just yet. The fact that it’s running on its own operating system without worrying itself about phone calls and what not in the background means that more resources can be dedicated to whatever it is you’re doing with Mirage Solo.

The visual fidelity provided by the wide 110-degree field of view of its 2,560 x 1,440 LCD display was immediately noticeable. Because it’s integrated into the device, pixels are almost indiscernible to the degree that you won't find yourself trying to readjust the headset to get a better look. The fact that the headset provides almost perfect isolation from light also plays into this gain in immersion.

Everything comes with a price, and the Mirage Solo is expected to come in under $400 (about £300, AU$500). A first look at the tag might shock you, but based on the powerful tech that’s been implemented and acknowledging just how well it’s been done, this seems like a sweet spot.