In case you missed it, Valve announced a load of new hardware this week, including a second stab at the Steam Machine, a Steam controller, and a long-rumored new VR headset called the Steam Frame. But in with the new often means out with the old, and perhaps inevitably, the company has confirmed that its previous headset, the Valve Index, is no more.
Valve’s Lawrence Yang told The Verge that it’s “no longer manufacturing” the Index, which we called “the best desktop VR yet” when it launched in 2019. The Index arrived around the same time as the Oculus Quest and its promise of an affordable all-in-one future for VR. By contrast, the Valve Index was very much still a high-end tethered device for the hardcore enthusiasts, with a price tag that reflected that.
From using other inside-out tracking headsets, it’s gotten better. The quest 3, in comparison, was a lot better tracking than the Quest 2 when not in direct front of the headset.
Behind though, is still hit-or-miss. Doing any behind the back motions is still iffy. Which isn’t an issue for lighthouse based headsets like the Vive or Index. It’s a trade off though for ease of use and setup, and more freedom where you can use it.
I’m optimistic about it and hope Valve has a good tracking implementation.