Oculus Connect 3 Announcements: Touch Controllers, Carmel VR Web Browser, Earbuds, Avatars

Oculus’ Connect 3 conference is happening in San Jose, California this week and today the keynote revealed some exciting news. The biggest announcements from Oculus Connect 3 event include Carmel VR Web Browser, avatars, earbuds, parties and rooms and pricing for the long-awaited Touch controllers.

Oculus Touch Controllers Cost $200

Oculus finally revealed how much its Touch controllers for Oculus Rift will cost, and when consumers can buy them. Oculus Touch controllers will cost $199. Preorders start on October 10, and the Touch will launch on December 6.

Oculus Announced A VR Web Browser Codenamed “Carmel”

Oculus announced today a VR Web browser codenamed “Carmel.” The Carmel developer preview will be available soon and will run on any Oculus device. It will let users browse the web right inside their VR headset, and play WebVR experiences. Carmel and ReactVR will also give developers the opportunity to build experiences that won’t require download. Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell said onstage to developers “Everyone in the future is going to have their own VR [destination] on the web.” Mitchell demoed some VR experiences he thinks developers will want to build, including simple Photo Spheres.

Oculus Avatars Will Be Coming To Mobile In 2017

The VR company also announced a new project: Oculus Avatars, which is designed to give you a real presence in virtual reality. You can customize your character to make it just like you, and you can choose from a range of cosmetic options. Oculus avatars will be coming to mobile devices in 2017. The best part about the avatars is they will have a social element, so you can interact with friends. Nate Mitchell Oculus co-founder said “We want to enable social presence at the platform level.

Oculus Announces Social Features, Including Rooms And Parties

In addition to the avatars announcement, Oculus also announced two new social features, including Room and Parties. Rooms is designed to act like a virtual living room where groups can watch a movie or play games. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed a demo where three people gathered together in virtual reality and played a game of chess with each other. While the technology isn’t exactly ready just yet, it was pretty cool to see future, especially how the cartoon avatars tracked the gestures and lip movements of the speakers.

Oculus Introduced New $49 Earbuds For The Rift

Oculus introduced a new pair of earbuds that connect to the Oculus Rift VR headset called Oculus Earphones at its Oculus Connect 3 event in San Jose, California. The Oculus Earbuds will cost $49 and will provide an audio experience that's just as good as $900 earphones, said Oculus CEO Brendan Irbe.