Goodbye Oculus Rift S, we won’t miss you
Long live Oculus Quest
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The end of theOculus Rift Shas finally arrived. Facebook has confirmed that it will no longer restockOculusRift S devices, so the only way to get one soon will be on the resale market.
Back in September last year, Facebook announced its plans to discontinue the Oculus Rift S to focus on VR headsets that don’t require a PC. TheOculus Quest 2is already showing Facebook’s plan is a good one, as in just over five months on sale the Quest 2 hassold better than all other Oculus headsets combined.
If you already own an Oculus Rift S, there’s no need to replace it yet though. Facebook has previously promised to continue support for the VR headset after it is discontinued; there’s no reason to believe that promise will be broken anytime soon.
Where did it all go wrong?
The Oculus Rift S was a successor to the Oculus Rift, though in our review we saw it more of a half-step forward than a meaningful sequel. However the main draw of the Rift S wasn’t technical brilliance, it was price. Launching at $399, the Rift S was one of the cheapest mainstream options for people wanting to try VR, but even after dropping its price to $299 / £299 / AU$499 the Rift S didn’t see the same mainstream success as the Quest 2.
We’d be willing to bet that it was because the Rift S still required a fairly beefy PC, one that’s likely to set you back another $1,000 / (around £720 / AU£1,312). At those kinds of prices, you can’t really call the Oculus Rift S ‘budget’.
Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 was able to live up to that label though, the $299 you pay for that system is all you need to pay to play VR. On top of that, you have a system that you can use wherever you want and can still plug into a PC if you want a different experience.
It’s a shame to see the Oculus Rift S fade away, but its time has come. So long Rift S, now where’s thatOculus Quest 3?
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Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.
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