Reports indicate Oculus’ next headset will make its debut later this month.
In October of last year, a report by Techcrunch claimed that Facebook’s Oculus would be abandoning its plans of a proper Oculus Rift 2 in favor of minor hardware updates to the existing Rift headset. Dubbed the ‘Rift S’, the 1.5 VR headset would supposedly feature a higher resolution than its original counterpart, and–more importantly–do away with tracking cameras thanks to inside-out tracking. These rumors also included a supposed 2019 release date.
Now, based on a new report by UploadVR, these rumors appear to have been right on point. Referencing emails sent to Oculus developers by Facebook, it’s been suggested that the Rift S will make an official appearance at this year’s Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, alongside the Oculus Go and upcoming Oculus Quest headsets.
Oculus Quest / Image Credit: Oculus
Recently, reports have begun circulating that the availability of Oculus Rift headsets have been on the decline the past few weeks, disappearing entirely from Amazon, Microsoft, and Best Buy. That, alongside its recent price drop from $400 USD to $350, indicates the strong possibility of an upcoming release of a successor.
Reports indicate the Rift S upgrade will feature inside-out tracking (removing the need for the current ‘Constellation’ system), an overall higher resolution, and possibly new optics. Last month, UploadVR uncovered references to a ‘Rift S’ in Oculus PC software code indicating the possibility of software-based IPD handling as well.
Oculus Rift / Image Credit: Oculus
With the Oculus Quest also expected to make waves at the upcoming developer conference, 2019 is already shaping up to be a monumental year for Oculus.
GDC 2019 takes place March 18th to the 22nd at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.
