Facebook Inc. Oculus Quest is receiving a slew of game-changing updates in the coming months that could position the virtual reality headset as the company's flagship VR device over the Oculus Rift.
The Quest, which launched in May, is a fully stand-alone VR headset that does not need to be plugged into a computer like the Oculus Rift headsets. The new Oculus Link feature, which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Sept. 25 at the Oculus Connect 6 VR industry event, will allow the Quest to plug into PCs and access games that were previously exclusive to the Rift. The Quest is also set to receive hand-tracking technology in early 2020, a feature that was not announced for the Rift headsets. As both headsets currently retail for $399, industry observers immediately questioned the future of the latest Rift headset, the Rift S.
"It does appear that the Quest is firmly the flagship product going into the fourth quarter," said Neil Barbour, a research analyst at Kagan, a media market research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. "It has a higher display resolution than the Rift S and an only slightly lower refresh rate. If the Oculus Link works as advertised, consumers would be hard-pressed to pick the Rift S over the Quest at the same price."
Oculus Connect 6 |
In his Sept. 26 keynote address, Oculus Chief Technology Officer John Carmack said even though the Rift S's retention rates were higher than its predecessor's, the Quest is "by far" Facebook's most retentive hardware.
"The Rift S was not much of a leap over the original Rift, especially compared to hardware revisions from other VR manufacturers," Barbour said. "Perhaps there is room to lower the price and bump up the value proposition."
Michael Goodman, director of media strategies at Strategy Analytics, agreed that the only way for the Rift to make sense to consumers now would be if it was offered as a lower-tier device.
"We see this happening in the video game console market, with Sony Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. Ltd. all selling two different versions of the PlayStation, Xbox One and Switch, respectively," Goodman said. "Facebook could potentially choose to market the Rift S or any other future PC-powered headsets as the more basic-tier devices, while the Quest with its dual functionality could be the new flagship, 'premium' headset."
The primary factor driving the Oculus Quest's success is its stand-alone form factor, which makes it far easier and convenient to use than headsets that require a range of hardware and add-ons such as cameras and external sensors. However, this stand-alone nature also limits its performance to the power of the hardware within the headset, which makes connecting to a gaming PC essential for running the more demanding games.
"Game developers are notorious for squeezing every last drop of power out of hardware they are making games for, so being able to connect to gaming PCs is important for the VR medium to evolve past the more basic experiences a standalone headset can provide," Goodman said. "However, it is unlikely that Facebook will make more headsets like the Rift S that only connect to the PC, as that would simply be a step back from the Quest's dual functionality after the update goes live."

Oculus Connect 6