The Oculus Rift was one of the first virtual reality headsets aimed at mainstream users (or at least gamers). But like most high-power headsets, the Oculus Rift is expensive and complicated: even after
price cuts , it sells for $399 and needs to connect to a powerful PC with wires.
Now Facebook is introducing a new model that’s cheaper and simpler. It’s called
Oculus Go , and it’s a $199 standalone VR headset: no PC required.
It’s a self-contained headset that Facebook says can be used for games, watching movies, or “hanging out with your friends in VR” using the company’s avatar-based chat system.
Like Google’s Daydream View, the Oculus Go is a lightweight headset with fabric covering the headset and a single handheld controller with a button and touch surface. But unlike Google’s system, the Oculus Go is self-contained: you don’t need to insert a phone.
Facebook says Oculus Go has a “fast switch LCD” display and “next-generation lenses.” It has built-in speakers, but there’s also a 3.5mm audio jack for plugging in headphones.
While the company isn’t saying much about the hardware or software that powers the Oculus Go, it’s siad to be “binary compatible” with the Samsung Gear VR system, which was developed in a partnership between Samsung and Facebook/Oculus. So it seems safe to say that the Oculus Go is an Android-based device.
Oculus Go should be available in early 2018 for $199.
VIDEO The company is also working on a more powerful standalone headset code-named Santa Cruz.
The Santa Cruz device supports inside-out position tracking and works with handheld motion controllers. The system is still in the prototype stage and there’s no word on when you’ll be able to buy a Santa Cruz device or how much it will cost.
VIDEO Oculus also redesigned Home, which is now a place that reflects your own personality and sense of style.
VIDEO With
Rift Core 2.0 , users are able to customize their Home experience—with toys, furniture, artwork, and more that you can place in virtual space as you see fit.
Users can put various in-game achievements on display, and see their library come to life as a collection of retro cartridges that you can actually use to launch apps.
Like Microsoft, Oculus also plans a social element with community and co-presence, letting you hang out, play, and explore with others. To that end, Oculus’s avatars are also getting a visual upgrade.
Oculus is releasing a beta for Rift Core 2.0 as a free update in December and will assess the community’s response then.
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