Oculus Rift S and Quest will be launched next month, pre-orders are open

Last month, Oculus revealed that its next step in virtual reality games would be a two-pronged approach: a review of its original headset with the Rift S and a stand-alone headset in the Quest. Specifications and features were detailed along with a spring 2019 release window and a price of $ 400 for each package. Now, Oculus has announced that the two simultaneous launches on May 21 – the pre-orders for Rift S and Quest are now also open.

The Rift S brings several improvements to the original Rift, a platform available since March 2016. First, the Rift S has an increased resolution. it will display 1280×1440 per eye, 2560×1440 in total, but it now displays in 80Hz (instead of 90Hz). Another addition is the headset's built-in audio and a more comfortable and secure headband. The most important feature, however, is the company's new end-to-end tracking technology, called Oculus Insight. This eliminates the need for external motion sensors because there are five sensors built into the helmet, capable of full position tracking.

While the Rift S remains a PC-based platform, the Oculus Quest brings together everything you need in one unit. The standalone VR headset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor – a significant upgrade over the specifications of the lower mobile partner, the Oculus Go. Quest also offers Oculus Insight with four built-in sensors to provide tracking of full position with six degrees of freedom. It will display an impressive resolution of 2880×1600 (a small hump of the Rift S), but at a frequency below 72Hz. Two storage options will be available: 64GB at $ 400 and 128GB at $ 500.

A pair of revised touch controllers, delivered with each helmet, repositions the motion detector rings so that they are above the pimples of the face to allow better tracking of the new Insight sensors. We spent some time with Oculus Quest and will soon have a final review on GameSpot.