Read the Fine Print: Assessing the User Experience of Reading in High Resolution Virtual Reality

Despite the increasing visual fidelity of commercially available virtual reality (VR) headsets, they remain ill-suited to scenarios that require reading large quantities of text. Industrial VR headsets, however, have high resolution displays for immersive simulations, such as medical training, that could be repurposed to evaluate the potential future of reading in VR. In this article, we present a within-subject study on reading preferences and user experience comparing the high resolution Varjo VR2 Pro with the lower resolution Meta Quest 2. Our results show that choice of headset can have a significant impact on reading preferences, with an effect size comparable to interindividual differences. These results demonstrate that existing VR text guidelines are inappropriate at higher resolutions. Overall, however, users preferred the reading experience of the Meta Quest 2, citing the distracting border between high and lower resolution displays and the weight of the Varjo headset as impediments to reading.