Virtual Reality Needs Voice Control

As we continue our series on virtual reality (VR), today we explore why headset manufacturers should be making voice tech integration a priority.

While Oculus already allows for some voice commands with its Oculus Voice function, for VR headsets like Google Daydream that rely on mobiles, integrating voice control seems like a natural progression to improve the user experience.

Above all, voice control could allow users to become further immersed into the 3D world. For gaming, for instance, it’s easy to see how players could use voice technology to interact with situations they’re presented in games, or to interact with other players in the game.

*VR Headset Owners are internet users aged 16-64 who personally own a virtual reality headset

Our research also shows that many VR Headset Owners are already engaging with voice search on a regular basis: around 6 in 10 are using it on their mobiles, laptops or tablets each month, making them 63% more likely to do so than average. Headset Owners in Asia Pacific stand out here, where mobile usage is more ingrained in online behaviors, but across all of the regions there’s almost 50% using voice search.

We saw last week how mobile voice search has experienced growth among every age group. As consumers become more and more accustomed to using voice control to interact with technology on a regular basis, it will be hard to go back to conventional and perhaps increasingly slower ways. Users will want their VR experiences to be seamless and easy, and voice control really fits the bill to cut all friction in user experience.