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Oculus' standalone headsets point to a changing VR landscape
Last year was the year that VR went mainstream. The Oculus Rift finally shipped to consumers, as did the HTC Vive and the PS VR. But even as the VR industry is finally starting to take off, it's already beginning to splinter. Before, we had phone-based VR like Samsung's Gear VR and Google's Daydream, and then higher-end PC models like the Rift and the Vive. Now, the standalone VR headset is emerging as a category unto itself. And it stands to make the VR landscape a lot more accessible -- and possibly more divisive -- than ever before.
Oculus' Santa Cruz gets closer to the future of wireless VR
Earlier today, Oculus announced Go, its first-ever consumer-ready standalone headset. But it's actually been working on another standalone headset -- Project Santa Cruz -- for a while longer. I had a chance to try on a really early version of it last year, and it was so unfinished that an Oculus helper had to put it on for me. Today at Oculus Connect 4, I tried on the latest version of hardware as well as the new Santa Cruz controllers, and the difference is night and day. It felt like a completely finished product.
Facebook adds live 360 video and creative tools to Spaces
Earlier this year, Facebook unveiled Spaces, its answer to social VR. In it, you could turn yourself into an animated avatar, and then interact with your friends and family in virtual hangouts and share 360-degree photos and videos. You could even snap a shot of yourself and your buddies with a virtual selfie stick. Today, the company is announcing a few new updates to make Spaces that much more enticing.
Oculus Go is a $199 VR headset that doesn't require a phone
While Oculus has pioneered the modern consumer VR industry with the Oculus Rift and Samsung's Gear VR, it's been working hard on a truly wireless VR solution as well. Last year, Oculus teased that it was planning on a powerful standalone VR headset called "Project Santa Cruz," and earlier this year, there was news that Oculus was working on yet another tether-free headset codenamed "Pacific." Now, the company is finally ready to unveil its first standalone headset, that's a little more accessible than the Santa Cruz. This is the Oculus Go.
