The Vive Pro is the Bugatti Veyron supercar of virtual reality headsets – an exotic, expensive creature for VR connoisseurs.

Just seen Ready Player One and gagging for a simple route into the world of virtual reality? Then throw your bank details at another headset – the Vive Pro is not for you.

If virtual reality is an early adopter market, then the HTC Vive Pro is for the earliest adopters. The first refresh we've seen to consumer VR headsets in two years, it's destined be niche-not so much a Vive 2 as a Vive 1.5, with all the connotations that brings.

If you can afford it. It's amazing quality, very comfort, easily adjusted for glasses, 2K O-LED display, built-in earphones, and well balanced on the head. Takes what's already good with the original HTC Vive and makes it's so much better. So much clearer and sharp readable text, etc.

When the Vive and the Oculus Rift came out in the spring of 2016, they did something incredible: they made VR actually worth caring about. Previously, the closest thing people had come to virtual reality were weird sci-fi movies or half-baked products like the Virtual Boy .

More comfortable to wear; higher resolution optics; more streamlined design Built-in headphones don't fit super tight; expensive

Built-in headphones don't fit super tight; expensive

It may sound like I'm not entirely sold on the HTC Vive Pro but that isn't the case. Sure, it's a lot more expensive than headline price might suggest and it's only an incremental upgrade over Vive VR, but it's undeniably the best VR headset on the market right now.

Vive's second generation VR headset

More comfortable to wear; higher resolution optics; more streamlined design

The Vive Pro's name and $800 price (headset only) tells you exactly who this VR headset is for. It's not for newbies looking to dip their toes into the expansive world of VR. It's not for anyone who doesn't have a gaming PC with at least an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX480 graphics card.

Super comfortable • Comes with built-in headphones • Streamlined cabling • Sharper displays

Super expensive • Need to buy controllers and lighthouses separately

The HTC VIVE Pro turns out to be everything it should be. Today, it provides the overall best VR user experience you can find, which is why it is a no-brainer buy for Professionals. For non-professionals, it is less obvious since the VIVE Pro has not been designed to provide the "best value".

HTC's Vive Pro is the next-gen upgrade of its superb Vive, now known as the Vive ‘VR'. This represents the premium line in virtual-reality gaming headsets, with competitors Oculus, once the market leaders, now lagging behind HTC when it comes to room-scale VR.

Improved specs; Exceptional comfort; Simple Setup; Best VR headset in 2018

Expensive; High PC spec demands; Not enough improvements