Just because you can get good at something, doesn't mean it's not hard :)

I know what you're getting at, but anything you're passionate about doesn't feel as hard as it does to people who are not.

There are so many things in life that I think are nonsensically complicated and I have a hard time grasping why anyone would ever want to waste time on them, while I know how to do a lot of things that "normal people" consider outlandish - just because I spent tons of time researching and learning about a topic because I was interested in it.

So yeah, if you're meh about VR headsets and "it would be kind of cool to have", just buy a Daydream - don't try to learn how to solder SMD's. :)

If you want it enough you'll figure it out.

As someone who has worked in an electronics lab and done lots of soldering, I can say your setup makes a huge difference. A great setup will make soldering SMD components a breeze, but a bad setup will make it very frustrating. Practice obviously helps but a nice soldering station with some kind of magnification will close the gap a whole lot faster.

Using a proper microscope for soldering was definitely one of the most useful things I learned as a high schooler interning in an electronics lab.

I am still surprised that this is not more common. Even a biology-grade binocular microscope for 100$-ish makes a huge difference.

It's also worth note that manufacturers like JLCPCB have SMT Assembly Service which might be able to deliver fully assembled boards. I haven't looked at the gerber+BOM to verify.

Also, it can be quite pleasant. After a while it almost feels like drawing pixel art.