Oculus VR's Oculus Rift could be the device virtual reality needs to finally become adopted by the public and not just tech-frenzied neophiles (and mid-90s Hollywood, whose grasp on VR was breathtakingly stupid at best). It's a $300 virtual reality headset that can display stereoscopic 3D and offer head tracking to let users look around virtual worlds. In a few years, everyone might have their own Oculus Rift and use it to play video games and virtually tour other locations. Currently, the Oculus Rift is only available as a development kit, and is meant for software developers to use to create software for a future consumer version of the device.
Since it's a development kit, I can't fairly evaluate the Oculus Rift as a product or give it a score. I can, however, tentatively recommend it to gadget fanatics who want to try out virtual reality. It's $300, which is dirt cheap for a future-tech dev kit, and there are enough tech demos to offer you and your friends a fascinating, immersive experience.
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For a dev kit, the Oculus Rift is surprisingly easy to get working with no programming knowledge whatsoever. It's nearly plug-and-play, and if you can follow simple instructions you can get it running with Team Fortress 2 and a few other games, as well as play with plenty of tech demos. I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't have to tweak drivers or use an SDK and a programming environment to try out VR, and I wouldn't be surprised to finds the setup for any consumer Oculus Rift to be similar to this one's process.
Speaking of which, Oculus VR is staying quiet on the prospect of a consumer Oculus Rift for now. While dozens of developers are promising future native Oculus Rift support for previously released games, we've heard very little on the progress for that support on basically every game besides Team Fortress 2. More importantly, it's clear that even with native graphical and tracking support, games need redesigned user interfaces that better work with the Oculus Rift, based on the drastically different field of vision the Rift offers.
Oculus VR is trying to catch up to its slew of orders for the dev kit, and consumer adoption is a long way off, but if you're a tinkerer or extreme early adopter the Oculus Rift could be a great project for you. Besides ongoing testing with Oculus Rift-supported software, I plan to experiment with some lenses to see if I can open up our Rift to conventional side-by-side 3D, without the skewed (but more human eye-like) field of vision. For the price, it could be one of the most frustrating and rewarding tech toys you'll pick up this year.
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FAQs
The Oculus Rift Development Kit is a complete virtual reality hardware setup that works with the Oculus SDK (available here) which is a free download. The Oculus Rift Development Kit includes the following: Oculus Rift headset and control box. Three sets of lenses (uncorrected and two levels of nearsighted correction)
Is Oculus Rift being phased out? ›
We've stopped manufacturing the original Oculus Rift, but are continuing to work on PC VR with Oculus Rift S. Rift and Rift S run on the same core platform, so both devices will be fully supported with regular updates and releases. Oculus Rift owners will continue to have access to the same Rift and Rift S store.
What resolution is the Oculus Rift dev kit 1? ›
The Oculus Rift Dev Kit 1 has a 110-degree diagonal field of view with a 640x800 pixel resolution per eye, and it weighs 379 g plus a tethered control box. Approximately 60,000 of the first developer kits were sold.
When did Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 come out? ›
Oculus Rift DK2 was released on July 24th, 2014, following an announcement on March 19th, 2014.
Why was Oculus Rift discontinued? ›
During September 2020, it was announced that the Rift S would be discontinued in 2021 in order for Oculus to focus on the Oculus Quest 2. In 2021, the Rift S was officially discontinued and was no longer available on the Oculus website, effectively ending the Rift line.
Is Oculus Rift still supported? ›
Because the Oculus Rift and the Rift S will still be getting updates and customer support, per Meta, for the foreseeable future, you can continue to use the older VR systems from Reality Labs and count on them working properly.
Is VR declining? ›
New research from Omdia signals a major downturn in the consumer VR market. Image via Sony. New research from Omdia signals a major downturn in the consumer VR market. Headset sales suffered a 24% decline in 2023, plummeting to 7.7 million units from 10.1 million in 2022.
What replaced the Oculus Rift? ›
The Oculus Quest 2 is a standalone headset that's $100 less than the Oculus Rift S, with higher resolution and the option of using it as a tethered headset just like the Rift S (via an accessory cable). Add the fact that Oculus is phasing out the Rift S, and there's really no question: Get the Quest 2.
Is Oculus Rift better than Oculus Go? ›
Differences in what you can play
It can handle 360-degree video well. This doesn't mean there aren't cool games and experiences, though. Some of the games that come out on the Rift also get versions that will work on the Oculus Go. By nature of the 6DOF and hand tracking, the Rift can offer some more advanced games.
What is code 43 on Oculus Rift? ›
Error code 43
This error pops up when attempting to update the firmware of your Rift. One potential fix seems to involve reinstalling your USB drivers. Right-click the Start button. Click Device Manager.
Quest 2 has a higher-resolution, higher-refresh rate, brighter display. Quest 2 has louder and richer-sounding speakers. Quest 2 has a huge library of dedicated games, and supports lots of PC VR games too, while the Rift S is only meant to play PC VR games.
Is the Oculus Rift S discontinued? ›
OCULUS RIFT S IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Experience our most advanced all-in-one headset, Oculus Quest 2, and access an epic library of PC VR games with Oculus Link.
What does Oculus stand for? ›
a Latin word meaning "eye," used in medical names and descriptions.
What is VR software development kit? ›
Virtual reality software development kits (VR SDK) are tools used by VR developers to create 3D objects and environments for an immersive experience. Virtual reality software development kits (VR SDK) are tools used by VR developers to create 3D objects and environments for an immersive experience.
What is VR toolkit? ›
Virtual Reality Toolkit (VRTK) is an open source, cross-platform toolkit for quick building of virtual reality (VR) experiences by providing easy-to-use solutions to generic user's problems.
What resolution is Oculus Rift development kit 2? ›
DK2's display is an OLED Pentile panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (1080p). It has higher resolution, lower persistence, more vibrant colors and less screen door effect than DK1's display.
What do you need for Oculus Rift to work? ›
Oculus Rift S and Rift minimum requirements and system specifications
| Component | Recommended specs |
|---|
| Memory | 8 GB+ RAM |
| Operating system | Windows 10+ |
| USB ports (Rift) | 3 x USB 3.0 ports, plus 1 x USB 2.0 port |
| Video output (Rift) | Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output |
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