Facebook, owners of VR tech company Oculus, have announced a new version of the Oculus Rift headset which will replace the original. The Oculus Rift S features a brand new 'halo' head strap which is designed to fit the head more comfortably and allow longer stretches of gaming. The new set also includes an increased resolution, jumping from 2160x1200 to 2560x1440 which is an increase of around 40%. However, the Oculus Rift S does swap out the OLED displays of the original set for LCD screens which reduces the refresh rate from 90Hz to 80Hz.
One of the most interesting features of the Oculus Rift S is the inclusion of onboard room tracking, meaning that you won't need to purchase an expensive set of external cameras to track your movements or the room you're in. The headset uses 5 cameras on the device itself to track your position and is comparable to the upcoming Oculus Quest, although the Rift S uses an extra camera in comparison. However, the new headset will not be compatible with previous Oculus sensors so the set will be completely reliant on its built-in cameras for tracking.
A tweet from the official Oculus twitter account showed off a video with some impressive looking gameplay and bullet points the features of the updated headset. There were also some pretty fancy graphics showing off the new controller design which includes more classic style thumbsticks as well a sleeker design aimed at fitting more comfortably in the user's hand. The tweet also claimed that the Oculus Rift S would 'set a new standard in VR gaming'. The headset will also be compatible with all the same games as the original set and is said to work with games across the steam VR library as well.
https://twitter.com/OculusGaming/status/1108382845679136768
The Oculus Rift S will be released at some point in Spring 2019 and will be priced at $399.
Are you excited for the new Oculus Rift S? Would you replace your current VR headset for the new offering from Oculus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
