Oculus Go, the upcoming standalone VR headset from the makers of Rift, is now arriving to developers looking to get a jump start on creating apps for what promises to be an affordable VR solution at just $200.

First reported by VRScout, the developer who sent in the photos can’t share any hardware specifications as such, but has taken a number of photos.

image courtesy VRScout

It appears the dev kit has reconfirmed the existence of fresnel lenses, a departure from its mobile VR forbear Gear VR which had standard refractive lenses. From the photo, the lenses appear to have much more noticeable ‘ridge’ than Rift. The company has said these are their “best lenses yet,” although it’s uncertain what makes them so special at this point.

image courtesy VRScout

Interestingly enough, the developer who spoke with VRScout redacted a large bit on the top of the headset. The promotional photos show it to be entirely clean, so it’s possible the space was used to display identifying information on who the headset belongs to.

Lastly, the facial interface appears to be a fair bit more comfortable in comparison to Rift, a welcome change for many. We’re hoping the thick padding is as squishy as it looks.

image courtesy VRScout

Applications for Oculus Go dev kits first opened up back in October. The portal to make requests for Go dev kits appears to still be open, although it’s uncertain if the company is still entertaining applications.

Oculus Go is slated for an early 2018 release, starting at just $200. Considering it aims to meet or beat Gear VR’s technical abilities at a fraction of the price of a Samsung flagship phone and the separate headset, the all-in price of $200 looks to usher in a new age of high-quality, low price mobile VR with Oculus at the helm.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Ted Joseph

    I have the Rift, 2 MR headsets (Samsung Odyssey, and Lenovo), the Google Daydream, and I am purchasing the Go DAY ONE! Good time to be alive !!!

    • chicanoterp06

      out of curiosity what made you decide to get the two windows headsets? I have the vive, rift and now psvr (thinking about returning this one) with the purchases being driven by access to content.

    • interesting. Which of the two would you recommend, the Odyssey or the Lenovo?

  • CURTROCK

    Damm! Would have been a GREAT Xmas gift. Looks like Oculus learned their lessons from the initial Rift launch. Warehouses be full, before taking pre-orders.

  • dk

    nice looking gearvr

  • Sponge Bob

    just as useless as GearVR

    • Justos

      You have no idea how lovely this will be for watching videos on a large screen. It will be meh for gaming when you compare it to Rift, but I am excited as heck to get my hands on it for that alone.

      • Sponge Bob

        oh yeah
        for 3d movies etc of course
        for productivity apps – useless
        but then again Rift and Vive are close to useless too in their current incarnation

    • Why do you say GearVR is useless?

      • Sponge Bob

        It is useless for any productivity application because controller is useless
        you can point it in any direction but that’s about it
        like a laser pointer in VR – not much use
        6DoF controller is a MUST for any productivity app
        6DoF Headset – highly desirable but may not be economically possible at present in standalone HMD without external tracking device like Nolo basestation.

    • dk

      yep it’s just a neat gearvr …..having 6dof headset should be the minimum with stand alones

      • Sponge Bob

        6 Dof standalone headset assumes inside-out tracking – not economically possible today, not for 200$ and not for 1000$
        but 6Dof controller is a MUST for any app

        • dk

          yep $200 will get u 3dof with something like snapdragon 820 or 821
          ….and the 6dof lenovo daydream headset with likely snapdragon 835 is coming for about $300 or something like $330 ……and it will be shown before the end of the year

    • David D. Taylor

      The Gear VR isn’t useless. It’s the gateway drug of VR. It is often the first VR experience people have, and the first one that is affordable. The Go will solve the problem of ease of use… don’t have to plug a phone it, take it out for updates, can pick up where you left off, etc… Comparing it to premium headsets, it’s no where near the same level of experience. It’s like PC Gaming. Many people like to game, not many are willing to go pay $2000 to have the premium experience. Console for $300 that plays all the major AAA games? That’s more reasonable. It doesn’t matter how much better the PC is, how many more things you can use it for. It’s out of most peoples price range, and more complicated than most people can handle. Just my opinion. Mobile VR is an important part of the VR industry, especially in helping wide-adoption of VR as a content consumption platform.

      • RFC_VR

        Good Content/Low Friction/Affordable Price – this is the mass market.

        ‘GO’ seems like a smart move as the high end is niche, despite what we (enthusiast) may think?

      • Laurence Nairne

        Agreed, it’s also worth mentioning that champions of gaming once used (and some still do) the term ‘casual gamer’ as an insult for the largest – and most profitable – segment of the gaming market.

        I see no difference here, where tech enthusiasts are boldly stating that the ONLY option is to make even the low-end tech meet their lofty requirements. The reality is that if the tech isn’t meeting your expectations (bar that which sits in the highest-end of the spectrum), it’s probably not targeting you in it’s demographic.

    • for $200 it is a miraculous product. Nothing else comes close to this pricepoint

  • daveinpublic

    Awesome, getting closer….

  • Justos

    Oculus PLEASE release that facial interface for Rift.

  • WyrdestGeek

    Will this one have 6dof? I’m waiting for a computer-less, non-tethered VR headset with 6dof.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Nope.

    • Laurence Nairne

      No that’s their project ‘Santa Cruz’, which will likely come later in 2018. That definitely won’t be available for $200 though.

      • Sponge Bob

        later in 2018 ???
        don’t think so
        maybe for 2,000$ a piece

        • Smokey_the_Bear

          Santa Cruz will most likely ship late 2018 (holiday). Price wont be 2 grand, they want to sell them, not let them collect dust on shelves. I would guess for around 600 bucks. I will buy one on day one. I can’t wait to cut the cord for good.

        • Laurence Nairne

          I’m going on the latest info (I think) from OC4. Will it be wrong? Probably, but that’s all we have to go on right now.

          On price, it’s definitely going to be the most expensive thus far, but I can’t see them going above $1000 else they’ll struggle to shift units, even to the core fans.

      • WyrdestGeek

        Yeah, that makes sense, RE the price.

  • random user

    Hopefully this means they will be available for sale sometime in January :-)

  • Adam Broadhurst

    Compared to the PSVR he Oculus headset really is ugly(still looks like a cheap work in progress) and not particularly comfortable..

    • Eric Adam Hovis

      I recently tried the PSVR, and it was plasticy and sweaty and way less comfortable for me than was the Rift Cv1 with a VR Cover insert.

  • I so want to buy this.
    Here’s hoping it becomes available in Greece at a comparable price.