The fight for VR dominance is intensifying, with sources claiming that a new Oculus VR headset could be about to enter production.
Tech news website Nikkei has reportedly spoken to sources close to the matter, claiming that a new iteration of an Oculus VR headset will start manufacture before the end of July 2020.
What’s most telling, though, is talk of the production numbers. Facebook – which acquired Oculus back in 2014 – is said to be planning to produce two million units in the second half of 2020 alone, which is around twice the amount of VR headsets Oculus produced in the same period last year.
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The quest for VR dominance
The large numbers certainly suggest confidence – both in the new headset and consumer interest in a time of economic uncertainty. The most pressing question, though, is what Oculus is planning for its new headset.
The standalone Oculus Quest headset was released in May 2019, and we expect a new iteration will also be a standalone model of some sort – especially given we saw an update to the PC-tethered Oculus Rift, the Rift S, last year.
It’s the Quest, and other standalone headsets like it, that really show the way forward for VR, allowing a greater range of movement and general flexibility in where and how you access VR experiences – most of them obviously being VR games.
We could well see a small upgrade to the Quest then – possible a ‘Quest S’ model. The budget Oculus Go model was also discontinued last year, and we think it’s unlikely we’d see a direct successor, but it’s possible that Oculus could be planning a ‘Quest Lite’ model that slightly lowers performance in order to cut costs by a small margin.
