Immersed’s Virtual Desktop Lets You Do Real Work in VR

The Immersed app finally let me get real work done using virtual reality.

I’ve been toying with virtual reality, mainly using it for playing games, browsing the web, and watching movies. I’ve even exercised using VR. But I also needed to get some work done, and so I gave Immersed a try.

Slipping on my Oculus Quest 2 headset for work rather than play was a weird experience at first. Everything that appears on screen when you first boot up VR is meant as entertainment. There were my old friends Netflix and Amazon Prime Video just waiting to be watched. Too many distractions. But when I entered the Immersed app, it suddenly all made sense.

Immersed in My Work

Even though I was working from home, I was suddenly "immersed" in an office environment. And what a setting! The app lets you choose different immersive environments to work in, ranging from a cave to a spaceship. 

In fact, working while on the deck of a spaceship orbiting Earth is a fantastic experience and possibly worth the app’s price by itself. 

To work off your laptop or PC, you just need to enter some codes, download an app, fiddle with settings, and presto, your screen desktop appears in front of you in virtual reality. It took me about three minutes to set up.

Immersed has a free mode, which allows one additional virtual monitor and a virtual webcam. The "Elite" version, which costs $14.99 per month, includes five virtual monitors and different environments. It also allows four private collaborators and a shared whiteboard.

I could see why some people would like to have all those monitors, but I found it distracting. What was unusual, however, was the sense of privacy and focus that being in virtual reality offered while working.

I can’t emphasize enough how big a deal it was to find a place to focus in virtual reality. These days, when everyone is working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, finding solitude can be tricky. The fact that VR cuts you off from the world always seemed to be a bug, not a feature. Now, I realize it can be both.

Brainstorming in VR

I spent several hours in VR researching by browsing on the web, writing, and editing. There were some downsides. First, using the Oculus for long periods doesn’t work for me. It’s just too bulky, hot, and uncomfortable. My tip for working in virtual reality is to have a desk fan pointed at your face.

There’s also the Oculus’ resolution, which isn’t as high as the late model MacBook I’m using. I got tired of looking at grainy pictures. Perhaps I’d get used to that if I persisted. Visually, I found a huge, unexpected bonus in working in VR. I tend to get headaches staring at the computer screen for hours a day, but the VR setup tricks your eyes into thinking that objects are further away than they are, providing instant relief from my eyestrain.

Overall, Immersed was a joy to use and a glimpse into the future of computing. With better hardware, I could easily imagine myself spending most of the workday using VR. We just need lighter, more comfortable headsets, faster processors, and better screens. Perhaps Apple will come to the rescue with its rumored VR gear?