Launched right on the heels of the Oculus Go earlier this summer, the Lenovo Mirage Solo, the company’s standalone Daydream headset, is currently selling for an $80 discount off the original $400 price tag on Amazon US.
The headset, which includes inside-out positional tracking, is one of the first standalone VR headsets to accomplish six degrees of freedom (6DOF), and certainly the first to land on the Daydream platform after HTC scrapped plans to bring their standalone headset Vive Focus to Google’s app ecosystem.
Google recently announced that Lenovo Mirage Solo is getting an aftermarket dev kit device to enable 6DOF controller tracking as well, letting developers begin creating apps and games which utilize both 6DOF headtracking and controller tracking; a possible hint that Google has more up their sleeves as the market shifts towards complete 6DOF systems like the newly announced $400 Oculus Quest.
In our review of the Mirage Solo, we cited some initial issues with the system’s lack of truly compelling content, as the 6DOF headset and 3DOF controller left something to be desired in delivering the sort of immersive (albeit lower-spec) content we’re used to on 6DOF PC headsets such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets. There is an inherent comfort-factor in having 6DOF headtracking however, as you naturally make minute adjustments to your head and neck position, and it’s certainly nice being able to toss it in a bag, leaving your smartphone in your pocket where it belongs. You can check out more in Road to VR’s in-depth review of Mirage Solo here.
While the $320 price tag may tempt some, there’s also a few used Mirage Solos in ‘very good’ condition, selling for around $280—something ultimately more reasonable than the $400 launch price.