It’s come as no surprise that Facebook has now revealed the launch date for its standalone headset Oculus Go, with Mark Zuckerburg making the reveal during his keynote address. For those interested in learning more about the head-mounted display (HMD) before purchasing Oculus has now released more detailed specifications.
When Oculus first revealed the Oculus Go last year it confirmed the use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 chip that would be powering the new headset. This will be paired with the company’s automatic Dynamic Throttling feature to offer better energy efficiency, for smoother frame rates and a better overall experience.
Of big importance for a standalone headset is battery life. Now this will vary depending on content but the built-in lithium ion battery should provide around two hours for videogames and up to 2.5 hours for streaming media and video states Oculus.
As for the display, Oculus Go features a 538ppi, 5.5” 2560 x 1440 WQHD, fast-switch LCD display with a new set of optics providing what the company calls ‘our best lenses yet’, helping reduce the screen door effect and quite significantly offering a higher resolution than the much more expensive Oculus Rift.
Other important additions also include built in spatial audio so that users won’t need an extra set of headphones to enjoy any of the VR experiences. With social VR also an important part of Facebook’s plans Oculus Go has an integrated microphone so users can chat to friends and other players online.
Today’s launch sees Oculus Go available in 23 countries via Oculus.com as well as select retailers in the US including Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg. There are two different versions available, the standard 32GB version for $199 USD and a 64GB model for $249. And due to Oculus Go being able to run Oculus’ Mobile SDK and being binary-compatible with Gear VR there will be plenty of applications available. VRFocus will be covering all the news from F8 so keep reading for further updates.
via Mint VR