The original Oculus Development Kit (the DK1) got me into VR. We built our own room scale VR using a DK1, three XBOX 360 Kinects, three tracking laptops, one backpack laptop, and a Razer Hydra.
Fast forward six years and things are a lot simpler!
The Oculus Quest is a completely wire-free, PC free, VR headset, with all the sensors built in. It’s a fantastic starting point for showcasing the capabilities of VR to those new to the technology.
What’s the draw?
Oculus Quest is Facebook’s first standalone headset that offers six degrees of freedom (6DoF) tracking. This means that the headset has the same full tracking capabilities typically reserved for high-end PC driven VR headsets – without the faff.
The Quest is a device that not only delivers on technology, but content too, and at a fair price. At $400, it’s the same price as an Oculus Rift S – but you don’t need an expensive PC to run it.
What’s the drawback?
The mobile processor in Quest can’t push the same quality image as a PC driven headset like the Rift. The Snapdragon 835 processor is the same one that’s found in a Google Pixel 2, Razer Phone, and Samsung Galaxy 8. But, a lot of games don’t require a really high level of processing.
Allison Berliner, Oculus Quest product marketing manager, told Digital Trends “We look at resolution on a per product basis, because there are a lot of components that go into visual fidelity,” explained Berliner. “So things that make this exciting is that on top of resolution, we also have the adjustable IPD, or lens spacing, and we’re bringing over our best-in-class optics from Oculus Go. The full package is what creates the visual fidelity in Oculus Quest.”
Content
Hits like Superhot VR, Creed: Rise to Glory, Robo Recall, Moss, and Beat Saber will all be available with at least 50 other titles. The highly anticipated Star Wars VR game Vader Immortal will also be coming to Quest.
Sound
The Quest uses spatial audio to aim sound at your ears via hidden sound holes in the headband. It allows you to still hear sounds from the game while being able to carry on with conversations with friends or demo staff. The device is also compatible with 3.5mm headphones for a more immersive experience.
Oculus Quest specs:
- Display panel: OLED
- Display resolution: 1440 x 1600 per eye (Oculus Rift had 1080×1200 per eye)
- 72Hz refresh rate
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
- 4GB RAM
- Lithium-ion battery with 2-3 hours playtime, depending on what you are playing
- 6 degrees of freedom head and hand tracking
- Two touch controllers
- Weight: 571g (Rift is 470g)
Price
Two models are available: a 64gb model for $399 and 128gb for $499.
Release date
May 21st, 2019, available to purchase now on the Oculus site and Amazon.
