Facebook kicked off its Oculus Connect 5 event with a bang today, introducing Oculus Quest, the official name for what was formerly known under the code name Oculus Santa Cruz. Set to launch in the spring of 2019 for $399, Oculus Quest will sit between Oculus Go and Oculus Rift as a powerful standalone headset with room-scale VR experiences that are "Rift-quality."
While Oculus Go already operates as a standalone headset, Oculus Quest steps things up a notch by overcoming some of Go's restrictions. Most notably, Move features six degrees of freedom (6DoF), allowing you to move around a room like you can with Rift, but without a cable tethering you to a computer. By comparison, Go features 3DoF, enabling you to move the controllers and our head, but not allowing you to move around in your physical space.
Oculus Quest features inside-out tracking, much like Windows Mixed Reality headsets that are currently on the market. It uses a total of four cameras in the headset to track the space around you, along with the controllers. All of the hardware required to process this data is built into the headset, including the processor, RAM, storage, and battery. Essentially, you're wearing the entire computer on your head.
In terms of looks, Quest looks similar to the Rift, sporting a rubbery headband to keep it in place. You won't notice any massive headphones here, however, as Move includes an integrated audio solution for spatial sound.
Oculus Quest is expected to launch in the spring of 2019 for $399. According to Facebook, more than 50 titles are expected to be available for Oculus Quest at launch.
