Facebook Looking to Take Over the World of VR
Virtual reality seems to be the next “big thing” for media. With movie theaters being designed to give customers deeply immersive experiences, and sites like YouTube hosting 360 videos, the virtual world is getting larger by the day. Now, Facebook giving VR a big hardware push with its new device, the “Oculus Go“.
The new VR headset is slated to release sometime early in the first quarter of 2018 for $199. Without the need of a phone or PC, Oculus Go provides a unique, immersive experience with just a simple headset.
According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg, the plan is to get “a billion people in virtual reality.” Oculus VP of VR Hugo Barra also stated in a recent blog post, “This all-in-one device makes VR more accessible than ever and represents a huge leap forward in comfort, visual clarity, and ease-of-use.”
As of now there is no current news regarding battery life or graphics within the new headset, but with the $199 price tag, it is one of the less expensive ways to dabble in for the VR world. While the Samsung Gear VR comes in at $99, you do need a $500 device to pair with it. The Oculus Go gives you everything you could possibly need in one piece of hardware.
According to Barra, details include:
- “Super lightweight” fabric design
- Mesh fabric straps
- Foam inner construction layers that conform to face
- 2,560×1,440-pixel “fast-switching LCD display”
- “Next-gen” lenses compared to Oculus Rift
- Spacial audio with built-in speakers
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Single motion controller with 3 degrees of freedom (like Gear VR, you can swing a sword, but not reach out and grab)
- Will play titles from the Samsung Gear VR library (binary compatible)
- Available early next year, with developer kits shipping in November.
Will you be picking up the new VR headset from Facebook and Oculus? Have you already submerged yourself in the VR world? Let us know in the comments below!
