What’s The Difference Between VR And AR?

Where VR is an immersive experience, transporting you completely into a virtual world, AR is more focused on blending both physical reality and virtual reality. Virtual reality needs a headset to offer the experience so that it can occupy your full field of vision. This means nothing from your physical environment will be in view. This is much different than augmented reality, which can use a device that has camera capabilities even if it isn’t a headset. This technology works by analyzing the environment through the camera — such as the one on a smartphone — and placing virtual, 3D objects or 2D overlays within it. 

These technologies are similar in a very surface-level way in that they both combine reality with virtual reality. They can also both be used as learning devices or to relay information in more novel and impactful ways. From there, though, there aren’t many other similarities, and they tend to serve quite different purposes, such as AR headsets being used for retrieving information while working in the field and VR headsets being used to play games or experience unique environments.