Facebook Launches A New Product? Company Announces Oculus Quest VR Headset

Facebook's (FB) Oculus line of virtual-reality headsets have not fully revolutionized the way to watch movies and play video games just yet, but the company’s newest product may help it get VR into more consumers’ hands. On Wednesday, Facebook announced Oculus Quest, a VR headset that requires no wires or external hardware, while offering more features than the company’s previous wireless efforts.

Quest fits into the middle of the Oculus product lineup, in terms of price and capabilities. It will launch in Spring 2019 at $400, which is the same price as the high-end Oculus Rift and more than the low-end Oculus Go. Unlike Rift, it does not require any wires, nor does it need to be connected to an expensive gaming PC to work. Unlike Go, it supports the Touch controllers for more advanced gaming applications, while also offering six degrees of motion tracking.

Oculus said it will launch with more than 50 applications, with some popular VR games like “Robo Recall” and “Moss” coming later on. In essence, Oculus Quest offers high-end VR gaming experiences with motion controls and positional tracking without the need to purchase an expensive PC. It is the same price as the Rift headset, but that only works with computers that cost around $800 on the low end.

Instead, with Quest, the hardware is built into the headset. Given its mobility (and thus its need to preserve battery life), it will probably not be as powerful as a Rift-ready PC. Still, if developers support it, Quest could get VR into more homes and convince more consumers that the technology is viable.

If Quest can offer a similar lineup of applications and games as Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, it would be the most affordable and accessible headset on market. Rift and Vive both require PCs, and while PSVR is only $300, it does not work without a PlayStation 4 game console.

The VR hype from earlier this decade did not translate to massive sales for the three major headsets. They have not been failures by any means, but a high financial barrier to entry means they have mostly been relegated to an enthusiast market to this point. Sales have slowed over time, as well.

Shares of Facebook gained 1.24 percent on Wednesday.