All Mode
Do you remember that company Aukey? They were the ones that sold you iPhone and Android chargers on Amazon. They are not only making charging accessories anymore. They have entered the virtual reality game, with a game, and a game that is big! Beating HTC and Oculus to punch, Aukey brings a 4k virtual reality headset to the market. Like the previously released Pimax (and based on the Pimax hardware), Aukey’s 4K headset provides some amazing visuals that get close removing the perverted, the sickening, the terrible phenomena known as the dreaded virtual reality screen-door effect.
Image credit: Aukey
The Aukey Cortex 4K aims to transcend the screen door effect with glory and power. It contains a full 4k resolution screen while clocking in at a lower than average price. At $399, the Aukey is $100 dollars cheaper than one of the big girls on the block, the Oculus Rift. The Aukey headset is missing a few features mentioned below, yet, its ultra-pixel-dense display can help alleviate a key issue of virtual reality graphics.
Image credit: Aukey
The Good News
It has a nice design and fits decently. Some people have complained about the nose piece. But as one without a nose, I didn’t know-tice. The Aukey headset, like the Pimax, manages to squish a whole 4k display into these suckers. The pixel density is there, and as a whole outpaces even the closest competition by huge distances.
No screen door. Image credit: MakeUseOf
The text is immediately readable even when it is displaying small fonts. Objects in games look clear, sharp and solid. Videos played smoothly and the lack of the screen door makes everything appear somehow denser and sharper. The 4k resolution really does help. That said, this headset serves more than anything as an unfished preview/demo of the display tech to come.
The Bad News
Although the headset manages to transcend one of the most annoying visual issues with VR, it still trips and falls over its own feet in many ways. Perhaps, it is more like it never had such feet in the first place. Either way, although the headset is sharp, most people are saying it can be too dim. When compared to the Rift, Aukey’s offering pales in brightness-comparison. That said, on its own terms, it doesn’t look that bad. But that’s not the whole story…
60hz
Beyond the dark display tech, the Aukey 4k Cortexorama is limited to 60hz tracking. When watching VR porn or videos of any kind, this is not a problem. Videos are usually shot at a rate of 60 fps anyways. Therefore, the difference when comparing the video usage between an Oculus and a Cortex 4k, in Hz, is negligible. If this was it, that would be one thing, yet, the issues do not end there.
No trackers required but… Image credit: MakeUseOf
Less Tracking
There is no extra head tracking here. Without an extra camera array or laser beams, the Aukey cannot measure the 6th degree of movement. Therefore, in practice, you get head tracking without neck tracking. This string of words could be made into a new sex reference or term somewhat like “the Alaskan pipeline.” For many games, this doesn’t make a difference. Some, it makes a huge difference.
Not 4K?
Finally, the actual displayable resolution is sort of a problem. Although the headset claims it can do 4k, it actually outputs only at 1080 downscaled from 4k. Yes, this initially sounds disappointing but let me tell you why it is not.
First of all, most CPUs and GPUs can not handle 4k VR. Graphics quality would need to take a huge dip to make that possible.
Second, most games released now actually max out at 1080 in terms of reliability.
This means that, with the Aukey headset, you will get less screen-door, a darker screen, a slightly less smooth gaming experience (because of the 90 to 60hz drop) and the same resolution settings that most games today max out at. Aukey’s offering could be the best choice for a few groups of people.
Image credit: Aukey and ExtremeTech
If you mainly watch virtual reality porn or adult movies, this headset will be the best choice for you. The lack of head tracking and higher refresh rate don’t make a difference for video. If you are into browsing porn on virtual desktops, this headset is definitely the best choice for you. The virtual screens are sharp and actually readable (go figure).
This seems to be a good choice for some better content viewing… Don’t expect advanced features and more interactivity here… And for $399, i would rather trade for a PSVR than this box
What are you going to read on VR porn scenes though? LOL
game instructions?