Oculus is launching its newest VR headset today. The company’s Rift S is its new VR headset part of the Rift lineup, and it introduces some major changes.
Firstly, Oculus is building the Rift S in partnership with Lenovo. That means the design of the Rift S is vastly different from the Rift and Oculus’ other headsets, and it’s more inspired by what Lenovo does with its own VR headsets. Oculus says Lenovo co-designed the Rift S for “increased comfort, better weight distribution, and improved light blocking”. The new Rift S also packs a single-cable system so your set up doesn’t get too messy.
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The Rift S comes with some improvements to the displays. There’s been a small bump in resolution to 1280×1440 pixels per eye, though the frame rate of the displays is dropping from 90hz to 80hz. Oculus is also using LCD panels instead of the OLED panels now.
As TechCrunch reports, the new Rift S comes with a “slightly larger” field-of-view than the Rift, which should improve the VR experience. It doesn’t come with on-ear headphones, however. Instead, Lenovo has opted for integrated speakers and a headphone jack that lets you use your own headphones.
The device also comes with built-in tracking, called Oculus Insight. So you will no longer need external sensors, and considering the fact that Oculus is bringing the same tech to its other headsets like the standalone Oculus Quest, that’s no surprise.
Oculus Rift S will sell for $399, and it will be available for purchase this Spring.