The problem with PC VR is the PC

“Friction” is the word tech companies now use to acknowledge software and hardware pain points — typically at the point they’re planning to reduce or eliminate them. As the enemy of smoothness, friction is the collection of factors that keep an experience from being effortless, fun, or “magical” in Apple parlance; Polaroid cameras famously demonstrated how frictionless products become mainstream hits based on ease of use rather than raw specs.

In the PC VR world, PCs themselves have become the biggest remaining source of friction. Leading PC VR developers Oculus and HTC are now effectively on their second generations of PC hardware, and while both tried to eliminate as much cable tangle and software confusion as possible, they’re still saddled with legacy PC interfaces and challenges. After testing their latest headsets, I can fully understand why both consumer and enterprise VR developers are actively preparing to sidestep PC VR in favor of other solutions.