CES 2015: Avegant wants to bring style to VR with the Glyph headset

Virtual reality headsets aren’t exactly discrete are they? In fact they tend to look large, cumbersome, and annoying to wear. Avegant wants to change that view, and the Glyph headset is its idea of creating the ‘Beats headphones’ of virtual reality.

Now before you start making jokes about price vs quality, you should know that the Glyph isn’t about making the best VR headset on the market. It’s about making a VR headset that’s stylish. From the looks of things Avegant has accomplished that. The Glyph doesn’t look anywhere near as bulky as the likes of the Oculus Rift or even the Gear VR.

While the Glyph does work for gaming, it’s designed for watching videos on and Avegant is specifically targeting people who often fly on planes and have nothing to do with their time. That does sound like a bit of a niche market, so presumably there are plans to target the general population as well.

The best way to describe it would be a personal cinema for you to enjoy your films and TV in a peaceful, immersive environment. Plus, unlike other headsets out there Avegant claims that the Glyph doesn’t hurt your eyes if you use it for too long. This is due to the ‘micromirror retinal projection’ which tries to simulate natural light, with the end result being something more akin to a dark cinema rather than a screen against your face.

The Avegant will be officially unveiled at CES sometime later this week, so we’ll let you know when we have more detailed information about what’s included in the headset. All we know for now is that the Glyph will be going on general sale this Autumn for $599 (£392).

This week we’re bringing you all the latest news, videos and gossip from CES 2015 in Las Vegas. Check out the CES 2015 page to keep up to date and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see hands-on news with our editor Holly Brockwell from the show floor.

Tom Pritchard