Virtual reality is coolheaded and all , but it wo n’t really become mainstream until a ) it ’s low-cost and b ) it does n’t require a $ 1,000 + gaming personal computer . But it seems Facebook is attempting yet again to make VR a affair .
Facebook is creating a new Oculus VR headset that ’s not only untethered , but also cheap , harmonise to Bloomberg . The new headset , codenamed “ Pacific , ” is expected to be announced at the end of 2017 for only $ 200 . It ’ll eventually send in 2018 .
The new headset will reportedly do many of the same things the current version does , but establish on the price , it may be a lower - timbre gimmick . So it ’ll be more of an choice to the Rift — not its replacement . The Pacific will be more like Samsung ’s Gear VR , sans the requirement of a smartphone to operate . It ’ll be able to play immersive plot , display video depicted object , and persist Facebook ’s dorkysocial networking experimentation .
“ We do n’t have a product to bring out at this time , however we can confirm that we ’re making several pregnant applied science investments in the standalone VR category , ” a Facebook spokesperson narrate Gizmodo . “ This is in add-on to our commitment to mellow - final stage VR products like Oculus Rift and nomadic phone products like Gear VR . ”
The blueprint and feature article have not been finalized , but Bloomberg ’s generator reportedly state it ’ll look like a more succinct rendering of the Rift and that it ’ll be lighter than the Samsung Gear VR . It ’ll also amount with a distant control to navigate the user interface .
The Pacific wo n’t be as powerful as the Rift and will not include positional trailing , which mean that the twist wo n’t be able-bodied to recognize where its user is spatially . It ’ll likely cause more people toface plant while trying virtual rock climbing .
Facebook is also reportedly prototyping a wireless variation of the higher - end Oculus Rift . This gadget is codenamed “ Santa Cruz ” and it vocalize like the existing Rift , but without the need for an expensive computer .
There ’s still no price available for the Santa Cruz headset , but it ’ll surely cost more than the current Rift , which is normally $ 600 ; Facebook slashed the toll down to $ 400 for the summertime .
If Facebook manages to farm a cheap and decent - tone VR headset that does n’t require a smartphone or computer , it might gain a free-enterprise vantage over all the other company that are make VR headsets . To be clear : Cheap , decent VR experience do not exist today . It appears that Facebook is trying to solve two of VR ’s most thwarting trouble in one fell swoop .
Facebook is currently in fourth place in the VR marketplace outer space . Samsung is in the lead , according to the International Data Corporation . Sony and HTC are second and third place , respectively .
[ Bloomberg ]
Consumer TechFacebookVirtual reality
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