Facebook has announced a permanent price cut for its standalone Oculus Go virtual reality headset, significantly lowering the entry level for its smartphone-free solution.
Following a period on sale, the 32GB Oculus Go headset will remain at £139/$149, which is way down on the £199/$199 launch price for the VR device, which doesn’t require connection to an additional device. The 64GB model has also been trimmed to £189/$199.
In a statement given to Upload VR, Facebook said: “Oculus Go is now priced at $149 USD, which is equal to a $50 price drop. We are applying comparable discounts across all countries where Go is sold.”
The Oculus Go doesn’t offer the full six degrees of freedom provided by the Oculus Quest, but the 3DOF does provide a significant upgrade on some of the smartphone-based solutions such as the Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream headsets.
In our review of Facebook’s attempt to boost the entry level for higher-end virtual reality experiences, we awarded the Oculus Go 4 out of a possible 4 stars.
We praised the screen resolution of 2560 x 1440 and 72Hz max refresh rate, as well as the accurate tracking, wide range of launch software and bundled-in motion controller. We felt the 2.5 hours battery life could be improved upon, and bemoaned the absence of a killer app amid the 1,000 apps available at launch.
The biggest advantage, of course, is the cable free experience, but the absence of high-end processing power means you won’t get the highest-end experiences provided by the best VR devices out there.
Our reviewer wrote: “You should buy the Oculus Go if you want a budget-friendly way to get into VR, and you don’t have a phone that supports a mobile VR solution such as the Gear VR or Google Daydream. That said, even if you do have such a phone the Oculus Go could still be an excellent choice. Having a separate phone and VR headset rather than having to constantly detach the phone from a headstrap when you need to use it feels more ideal.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
