A New Oculus Appears

Goodbye Oculus Go! Hello, unconfirmed leaks and speculation! As the Facebook subsidiary announced the discontinuation of its entry-level Oculus Go VR headset, many wondered what would take its place on the product roster. Would Oculus aim for an improved Go for the budget-minded user or try to lure them towards a more affordable version of its acclaimed Quest?

Leaked in mid-June 2020 on Twitter by WalkingCat, images allegedly showing a forthcoming second-generation Oculus Quest caught the attention of many tech fiends and pundits. Earning a sharp “no comment” from the company itself, the leaked images don’t show much of a departure from the current Quest. Notable returning features could include four tracking cameras and Quest-standard controllers, as seen in the images. The all-white design marks the most obvious departure from the current Quest’s dark-grey body but has already been met with criticism from potential purchasers, citing the ease with which sweat and generally human contact can sully a product’s mostly white body.

A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

Some observers are also concerned that the “new” Quest (if that’s what it actually is) seems to have forgone IPD adjustment capabilities and merely revises a controller design already in use. Just how new is the device seen in these leaks, and will it indeed be branded “Quest,” or could we have a newer, more powerful Go on our hands instead?

With Oculus Connect 7, the company’s annual industry conference and showcase, scheduled for a VR staging in September due to COVID-19 concerns, more will surely be revealed in due time. Where will this device fall in the Oculus product line? Will it bring more users to the Quest or keep the Go alive for another few years? As with most of Oculus’s revelations, we’ll have to wait and see.