Oculus Go

Oculus

Oculus is one of the success stories from the Kickstarter platform, launching their campaign in 2012 they gathered a lot more money than they had aimed for. The campaign was for $250,000 and Oculus made ten times that at $2.4 million. The first model launched to the public was the Oculus Rift and it was a success. In 2014 Facebook bought Oculus, a move many in the gaming world were not happy about as Facebook is not a 'liked' brand. 2015 saw the collaboration known as Samsung Gear VR made for Samsung Galaxy smartphone range.

The Oculus Go was released in 2018 and is a standalone unit (unlike Rift and Gear VR) which was manufactured by Xiaomi; which is why in China the Oculus Go is known as the Xiaomi Mi VR. This model of the Oculus range has sold about two million units since its launch.

Oculus Go

Independent of a PC for running, the Oculus Go headset has its own built-in screen. It has a 5.5 inch 2560 x 1440p fast-switching LCD display, speakers integrated for spatial audio and a headphone jack for external audio. The processor installed is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SOC and 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The storage space options are between 32 or 64GB.

The Oculus Go runs an Android-based OS which has access to the VR software via Oculus Home and also access to the app store which includes games and multimedia apps. Included is a 3DoF controller which is well designed and has responsive controls. This controller is used for interaction in the digital space, allowing gamers to use it like a gun or other tools depending on the game. It is powered by a single AA battery.

This VR headset is not like the Rift or the HTC Vive. One does not have free tracking, so walking will not make the digital space change. If something is in the distance inside the display, walking toward it will not bring it closer. This is why the Oculus Go is considered a beginners experience in the VR world. 

Other features

An interesting app is the Oculus Rooms app, it allows users to interact in a digital space with their friends. It is like a sim hangout where people can float about, play chess with each other or watch movies. It is a digital 'common room' if you will.

Games from Rift and Gear VR are not playable on the Go. But if a friend owns a title on one of the other headsets you can join them using your Oculus Go.

The battery lasts for 2 hours with games and 2.5 hours with video. If one is downloading apps in the background the battery will drop a lot faster.

Comments

Overall the experience is good considering this model is a lot cheaper than what else is available in standalone units. The price of the Oculus Go falls in the mid-ranges.