HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition — specification and verdict
The Omnicept Edition is the sensor-equipped version of HP's Reverb G2: the same 2160x2160 LCD per eye at 90 Hz behind aspherical fresnel lenses, which HP quotes at about 114 degrees of field of view, plus eye tracking with pupillometry, a face camera and a pulse sensor in the facial interface. That resolution with a full RGB stripe is still among the best for reading procedure text or instrument labels in a headset, and the IPD slider covers 60 to 68 mm, which fits most but not all adults. The extra sensors existed for research rather than for training delivery: gaze, pupil size and heart rate fed HP's Omnicept platform to estimate how hard a person was working through a task. None of that helps a training fleet now, because this is a Windows Mixed Reality headset and Microsoft removed Windows Mixed Reality from Windows 11 with the 24H2 update. It has no onboard computer at all: it hangs off a PC on a single 6 m cable carrying DisplayPort 1.3 and USB 3.0 Type-C, and it cannot run our Android courses.
There is no rollout here we would sign off on. Every headset needs its own Windows workstation with a DisplayPort output, so ten headsets means ten PCs, and each of those PCs has to be frozen on Windows 11 23H2 or older because 24H2 removed the runtime the device depends on. Microsoft has said the remaining Windows Mixed Reality route through SteamVR is supported only until November 2026, after which there are no security updates. HP no longer sells the Omnicept Edition new in Poland or Germany, so a purchase means the second-hand market with no warranty behind it, and while the face cushions are replaceable there is no vendor supply of them left. There is no vendor MDM and no kiosk mode, and the Omnicept software itself was licensed per seat rather than bundled.
Do not buy this for training in 2026. The sensor package was genuinely unusual and the panel is still sharp, but Microsoft withdrew the platform underneath it and HP withdrew the hardware, so nothing built on it survives past November 2026. If you need eye tracking for research, buy a headset whose runtime is still maintained; if you need our courses to run, you need a standalone Android headset rather than a 727 g device on the end of a PC cable.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — PC-tethered devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 110°, from 39 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 500 g, from 26 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $899, from 45 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition controllers
6DoF
HP redesigned the Windows Mixed Reality pad for the G2: the touchpad went, an A/B and X/Y layout came in, and the lights moved to a shape the headset’s four cameras can read. 167 g each, two AA cells, about 15 hours.
In the boxHow it is tracked
Headset cameras
The headset watches markers on the controller, so it loses a hand held behind the back or low at the hip until it comes back into view.
The controller itself
- Controller weight
- 167 g
- Controller power
- AA batteries
- Controller haptics
- Yes
- Controller inputs
- thumbstick · A/B or X/Y buttons · menu button · Windows Start button · grip trigger · trigger
Other controllers
Specific controllers from another maker
Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers (Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, ASUS)
Bare hands
No hand tracking — a controller is the only way in.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- HP
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — PC-tethered
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- PC-powered VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2020-09-30
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2021
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- 2026-11-30
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- LCD
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Fresnel lenses
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 2160x2160
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 90 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 114°
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: not published by the manufacturer
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- 727 g
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- 98° horizontal · 90° vertical · 107° diagonal
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- 98.85° horizontal · 90.85° vertical · 107.52° diagonal
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- ≈84.31°*VRcompare
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Eye-tracked
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- Passthrough: not published by the manufacturer
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Manual
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 60–68 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- 110 × 253 × 290 mm
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- Weight with strap: not published by the manufacturer
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Headband
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · foam facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF, 2 front-facing and 2 side-facing cameras
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- 4
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- Yes
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- Body tracking: not published by the manufacturer
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- Yes
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition controllers
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 6DoF
- Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say.
- Headset cameras
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- Specific controllers from another maker — Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers (Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, ASUS)
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: not published by the manufacturer
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- thumbstick · A/B or X/Y buttons · menu button · Windows Start button · grip trigger · trigger
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Yes
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- AA batteries
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- 167 g
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Yes
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- DisplayPort 1.3 · USB 3.0 Type-C
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Over a cable (DisplayPort 1.3, USB 3.0)
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: not published by the manufacturer
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Enterprise
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $1249
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: not published by the manufacturer
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
Realistically only for a lab that already owns these units and wants the pulse and pupillometry stream for a study it can finish before November 2026, on machines it can keep on Windows 11 23H2. At 1249 USD plus a GeForce-class workstation per headset it was never a mass-deployment device, and as a discontinued one it is even less so.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
HP and VRcompare disagree about the field of view: HP's QuickSpecs claim about 114 degrees without naming an axis, while VRcompare measures 98 degrees horizontal and 107 diagonal visible, so treat the 114 as a marketing figure. HP publishes a single 727 g weight and gives its 110 x 253 x 290 mm dimensions as being without straps, so it is not clear whether the weight includes the headband. HP never published a discontinuation date, so the discontinued status rests on availability alone, and we could not confirm any current enterprise licensing or fleet-management offer for the Omnicept platform.
HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- Tyriel Wood - VR Tech2020
The announcement coverage of the sensor package that separated the Omnicept from the ordinary Reverb G2 — heart rate, pupillometry and face camera feeding a research SDK. Whether you need any of it is the whole purchasing question.
Watch on YouTube - Tech Talk With Jean2021
The argument against, made in four specific points rather than as a general complaint. For a headset whose entire premium is a sensor suite, a structured case for skipping it is exactly the second opinion worth having.
Watch on YouTube - gmw32020vendor material
HP's own trailer, carried on a trade outlet's channel. It is here for one reason: it is the shortest statement of the intended use — measuring the wearer during training and simulation — which is a claim no independent review sets out to test.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition — frequently asked questions
- Does the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition still work on Windows 11 24H2?
- No. Microsoft removed Windows Mixed Reality in the Windows 11 24H2 update and the Omnicept Edition is a Windows Mixed Reality headset, so it stops working on any PC that takes that update, including through SteamVR. The only supported route is keeping the PC on Windows 11 23H2 or older, and Microsoft has said that route is maintained only until November 2026.
- What did the Omnicept sensors measure, and did the software cost extra?
- Eye tracking with pupillometry, a camera aimed at the lower face, and a pulse sensor in the facial interface, all read through the HP Omnicept platform to estimate cognitive load during a task. HP shipped the headset with a 30-day Omnicept trial, after which the data was limited to raw sensor output unless you bought a per-seat developer and runtime licence; HP later made the developer plan free. VRcompare notes the face camera never had native face tracking in the SDK, so expression data was the weakest of the three streams.
- Can our VR training courses run on the Omnicept Edition?
- No. Our courses are standalone Android VR applications and this headset has no computer inside it: it needs a Windows workstation over a 6 m DisplayPort 1.3 and USB 3.0 Type-C cable. Even with a PC build there would be no vendor MDM or kiosk mode to run a fleet from, and the platform loses support in November 2026.
Compare this device
Consider these too
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Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. Manufacturer's specification
Product and company names used here are the trademarks of their respective owners and appear only to identify the hardware being compared. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these manufacturers. Illustrations are our own.