Difference Between AR Vs VR Vs MR and How they work (2021)

These days, there is a talk that AR and VR are the future. The world is starting to use AR, VR, and MR technology in their daily activities to make things much easier and interesting. So, in this article, we will understand what is AR, VR, and MR, the Difference Between AR Vs VR Vs MR, and how do they work.

Difference Between AR Vs VR Vs MR:

To understand the difference between AR Vs VR Vs MR, we should first understand how they work. 

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What is VR?

Let’s start with VR first. The VR full form is Virtual Reality. The meaning of Virtual is something that appears to exist but does not exist in reality. Let me make me simple.

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How Virtual Reality Works?

VR Technology shows you something which is not present in front of you. So, for that, you need to buy a VR headset, like the one you see in the above image. It can be connected through your cell phone or comes with pre-stored data. When you wear this headset, you see things as if they are in front of you. Moreover, you get a 360-degree view of the virtual place. You can turn your head left, right, up, and down to explore the place. 

You feel like it is reality, but it is virtual. Hence, the name Virtual Reality. The things you see can be footage from the real world, or it could be an imaginary video. You can take a visit to the Maldives, Eiffel Tower, Burj Khalifa, and more places which you have never visited. 


Nowadays, gamers are enjoying VR a lot. Even the Play Station offers games like Tennis and racing. VR is going to be the future of gaming. It could take even a decade, but eventually, gamers will start adopting VR technology. The movie Ready Player One is completely based on How VR will change the gaming world in the future.

Not only that, you experience underwater diving, sky diving, walk with wild animals, visit a haunted place, have a roller coaster ride, travel in space, and much more.

Look at the video below. If you watch this 360 degrees VR video while wearing a VR headset, you will feel like you are riding the roller coaster in real. 

How to create VR videos?

You can record 360 videos by using a 360-degree camera. VR is not only about watching 360 videos. It is easy to create VR videos. All you need to do is get a 360-degree camera and record a tourist place. However, developing VR games and animated videos is a much difficult task. 


How you can experience VR?

Watching VR videos is not expensive at all. You can purchase a VR Cardboard by Google or Mi VR Headset for a very affordable price. Besides that, you need to have the Gyro feature on your mobile, which is available on almost all smartphones these days. You have to play a VR video on YouTube, and place the phone in the given spot of the Headset. You have to adjust it for proper view. Finally, you can experience all the things sitting on your couch.

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Is VR bad for your eyes & Health?

Longer use of VR can damage your eyes and mental health. But, it depends on the quality of the VR Headset. If you have an expensive VR Headset, made with quality lenses and material, you can use it longer. 

I would recommend my readers to use it for a couple of hours and take a short break before using it again. If you are using it for the first time, then you should not use it for more than 30 mins. Also, keep VR away from kids. VR can be useful for educational purposes, gaming, and experiencing things that you cannot do in real life.

What is AR?

AR Stands for Augmented Reality. It is what you have been watching in movies like Iron Man. Augmented Reality creates a holographic image in your Reality. 

How Augmented Reality works?

The best example would be the Iron Man movie. You might have noticed, when Iron Man wears his helmet, he can see the real world, but it also shows him other details like a map. Another example of Augmented Reality is the Pokemon Game, which was a huge hit during its release. The game used to show Pokemons in your real world. 

You don’t require a Headset for this, but you need to wear glasses. Everything around you will be the same. But, more virtual objects will be added. 


Suppose you want to see how the sofa is going to fit in your living room. By using AR technology, you can create a virtual image of the object placed in your room. You can look around and see whether it fits perfectly in the given space. It is widely used all over the world for Home Interior Designing. 

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You can experience AR using Google Glass, Microsoft Holo Lens, or Sony Magic Lens. AR is very expensive compared to VR because it needs to scan the objects around and place virtual objects according to that. There are also several apps that help you create Augmented Reality objects in your real space.

Look at the video below to see how Augmented Reality works.

What is MR?

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MR stands for Mixed Reality. As the name suggests, MR is the mixture of both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. In MR, you can not only watch virtual objects in your real space but also interact with them. MR is still in the development stage. 

How Mixed Reality Works?

A perfect example of MR is again the Iron Man movie. You might have seen Iron Man interacting with the virtual objects with the gestures of his hand. That’s how MR is going to be. However, some people like to call it AR 2.0, instead of mixed reality.


Conclusion on the Difference Between AR Vs VR Vs MR:

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are definitely the future. And, you need to start using them in order to keep up with the growing Technology. 

VR Headsets can be found in online stores. The good news is that they come in all ranges. You can buy the most affordable VR headset, which is Google Cardboard. 

AR Glasses are very expensive, but you can still experience AR with the help of mobile apps. You can use the Ikea App, or AR video editing apps. 

Usually, when comparing things, we choose the best one. But here, we cannot come to a conclusion that one is better than the other. Because each technology has different features and works differently. The Difference Between AR Vs VR Vs MR is their features. 

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