It was about seven years ago when Oculus first sparked public interest into the appeal of virtual reality, particularly with the announcement of the original Rift headset. The company promised high-quality VR never before seen in the market for a cool $300.
Fast forward to today, and following a hefty acquisition by Facebook for more than $2 billion and a re-release of the Rift in 2016, Oculus is back on track to launch its newest virtual reality headsets.
The newest Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S are now available for pre-orders, and both will set you back by $399. However, in spite of the pricing, the headsets are not quite the same and aimed at two different markets.
The Oculus Quest is the first self-contained VR headset, meaning that it can operate without the use of a computer, or a smartphone for that matter. It also doesn’t require any extra sensors much like the Rift or the Vive to track wherever you’re going. The Rift S, meanwhile, is a huge performance jump for the original Rift. It offers far better visuals than any of its previous iterations, as well as the Quest, but you still need a computer connected by wire to run it. It also ditched the sensors, which could make it a bit more convenient for those with tinier spaces.
This announcement by Oculus comes, coincidentally, at almost the same time as Valve’s announcement of their newest project: the Index VR kit. The Index also is up for pre-orders, but the price is a big difference; the Index will set you back by $999, which is almost the same as a VR-ready prebuilt computer.
In any case, it looks like the VR race is starting to heat up, as manufacturers have somehow managed to improve the technology to a point where it’s no longer niche. Oculus and Valve’s newest headsets are set to compete against other VR kits, mainly Sony’s own PlayStation VR, HTC’s Vive and Vive Pro, as well as the various headsets from Lenovo, HP and Samsung. Nintendo has also recently joined the VR fray, albeit aiming at a more casual crowd. Their efforts have produced the Nintendo Labo VR Kit.
The Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S are now available for pre-orders on the Oculus site. It’s set to hit the markets this May 21.
