Facebook today announced at F8, their annual developer conference, that pre-orders for Oculus Rift S are now officially live. Rift S is slated to ship on May 21st alongside the standalone VR headset Oculus Quest across 22 countries.

The company’s U.S. retail partners include Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Microsoft, and will be available for purchase both online and in stores. You can also pre-order Rift S through Oculus’ online store.

Rift S will be available for demo at Microsoft stores for a limited time, starting on May 21st.

Read our full review of Oculus Rift S

The Rift S headset bundle costs $400, and includes the headset itself, two Touch controllers, a reference guide, two AA batteries, and a mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter.

Since it’s essentially a modest upgrade specs-wise to the original PC VR headset Oculus Rift, you’ll need a computer sufficiently powerful to run Rift S. Thankfully, minimum/recommended specs haven’t changed much since the original Rift, which despite a higher resolution (1,280 × 1,440 vs 1,080 × 1,200) is thanks to a lower display clock rate (80Hz vs 90Hz). For clarity: this is a tethered PC VR headset, and isn’t wireless.

Image courtesy Oculus

Oculus says you’ll at very least need a PC running Windows 10, an NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 470 or greater, an Intel i3-6100 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 – FX4350 or greater, 8GB+ RAM, DisplayPort 1.2 source (or Mini DisplayPort using included adapter), and a single USB 3.0 Port.

Oculus recommends you have a Windows 10 PC  running an NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater, an Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater, 8GB+ RAM, and the same ports listed above. Check out this handy utility to see if your computer can run Rift or Rift S.

SEE ALSO
Oculus Explains Why It Doesn't Think the Time is Right for 'Rift 2' or 'Rift Pro'

Oculus Rift S Specs

  • Display: Single fast-switch LCD display – 2,650 × 1,440 total resolution (1,280 × 1,440 pixels per lens) clocked at 80Hz
  • FOV: “Slighty larger” than Oculus Rift (estimated to be ~110 degrees)
  • Optics: Improved Fresnel lenses promise sharper image quality over original Rift. No manual IPD adjustments, only in-software solution supporting a “best” fit for users between 61.5 mm and 65.5 mm
  • Tracking: Oculus Insight tracking technology requires no external sensors or base stations for full 6DOF head and hand-tracking. Accomplished by five embedded tracking sensors
  • Comfort: New halo headband, designed with Lenovo, boasts improved comfort and more appealing fit for quick on-and-off play. Sizing is quickly done through a single crank wheel at the back of the headband
  • Facial interface + straps materials: Nylon Micro Yarn, Spandex materials. Removable/Replaceable facial interface
  • Audio: Integrated into the headband with an open-ear design. 3.5mm jack for external headphones. Built-in microphone supports voice commands and can be toggled on and off
  • Touch Controllers: Wireless, optically tracked with the on-board ‘Insight’ tracking solution. Offers the same button layout as original Touch controllers, albeit with a redesigned sensor area for suitable optical coverage
  • Content: Access to Oculus Store Rift library including games like Beat Saber and Superhot VR, as well as upcoming titles like Asgard’s Wrath, Defector, and Stormland

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If you’re looking for more extensive info on Rift S, check out our deep dive review here.

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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 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Maanra

    Really feels like the index is at the front of the charge. Shame on your Zuck for kicking out Rubin. Guess that’s what it’s like when you have investors with guns to your head.

  • johann jensson

    Nice to see something improved over 1st gen, and affordable at the same time. Since Valve dropped the ball hard with the Index’ insane price and underwhelming specs (lower PPD than Rift S, increased godrays due to dual lens design), i’ll probably order the Rift S.

    Nobody likes Facebook, but they know what to do to push VR into the mainstream. Kudos!

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  • Zach Mauch

    Still can’t believe they did away with the ipd adjustment. I think that is going to cause a lot of problems.

    • Robert

      no it is still there but now it is software based and from what i have been reading it is better and more accurate

  • oompah

    matches up to MSVR headsets in specs
    (must be a copy like chinese do that also after 2 years hah ha)
    & at much higher price
    What we need is :
    1. light weight sliding goggles inside a light weight helmet like device that user wears on head ( as of pilots of fighter airplanes). The helmet has all electronics with weight distributed all over the head instead of highly inconvenient present ones that have most weight infront
    2. The job of sliding goggles should only be to reflect images from inside
    3. The images should be projected from sides
    4. The images should be built using small RGB lasers or as in hololens
    5. IPD adjustment is a must
    6. The helmet can have holes so that air conditioning can take effect
    7. If its structure & safety is similar to real helmets then these can also be used while driving / travelling so that google maps etc can work (or as in movie terminator) to give info about places, people or events , integrated with vast amount of facebook data available.

  • Robert

    They better ship out fast. Being that i see all these undeserving youtube idiots with them now saying it was cool they were sent one for free but they dont plan on using it for long and here i am sold my rift to get the s and cant wait to dive in