The flagship Oculus Rift headset is getting a bit of an upgrade, and it will be at a price most players can afford. The Oculus Rift S is the newest iteration, offering increased resolution and tracking without external sensors, which should make it the ideal workout headset.
We have technology
The Oculus Rift S uses “Oculus Insight” tracking to catch every movement you make without the need for external sensors. The headset’s band has been redesigned to make it more comfortable, as well, using a fit wheel on the back. It looks similar to the PlayStation VR’s design, allowing you to quickly tighten it on your head.
Oculus partnered with Lenovo for its design, also offering better weight distribution and improved light blocking. The Oculus Rift S uses only one cable from the headset itself, and still features a headphone jack. The lighter weight will make it easier to do longer workouts while wea
All of these features should make it ideal for workouts, as you can experience VR and adjust on the fly without being tangled in a mess of cables. Because of the external-sensor-free design, this should also allow for you to practice fitness in smaller locations or those without ideal placement for cameras. The Rift S was built with room-scale VR in mind, as well, giving you a 360-degree experience that will make it ideal for hectic sports or first-person games.
The Oculus Touch controllers received a redesign alongside the headset to support inside-out tracking. Using what Oculus calls “computer vision algorithms,” the headset itself is able to trace physical spaces in real-time. It’s all without you needing to clutter your office with cameras and sensors.
If you’ve ever bumped into objects while moving around in VR, the Oculus Rift S has a solution for you. Called “Passthrough+,” the headset feature allows you to view your surroundings, so you won’t need to pull the whole headset off while moving. This should come in handy if you are using the headset next to another person doing their own workout, as well.
It’s almost here
Because the Rift and Rift S use the same store, you shouldn’t expect exclusives, but it looks to be the better version of an existing product – think the PS4 Pro compared to the standard PS4 system.
The Oculus Rift S will launch this spring for $399. You can sign up to receive the latest updates at Oculus’ website. It won’t require a mammoth PC, with a recommended RAM of just 8GB and an Nvidia GTX 1060.
