Xiaomi and Oculus at the CES 2018 announced that they are working on two standalone VR headsets – Oculus Go and Xiaomi Mi VR Standalone that will be built by Xiaomi and will be powered the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Mobile VR Platform. These don’t require cable, external sensors, or a mobile phone.
Oculus said that it has worked with Qualcomm to deliver the highest possible level of performance to meet the high computing demands of the standalone VR product category.
Oculus Go was introduced back in October last for $199. Both the headsets share similar design and specifications including 2K (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) fast-switch LCD screen, next-generation lenses and integrated spatial audio developed by Oculus, controller with touchpad and a trigger button.
The audio drivers are built directly into the headset, making getting in and out of VR much faster and making the headset easy to share with someone else. These also have a 3.5mm headphone jack for a more private listening experience.
Mi VR Standalone shares the same core hardware features and design as Oculus Go and supports the Oculus Mobile SDK, enabling existing Oculus developers to easily bring their content to the Mi VR platform in China and also has support for Mi VR SDK.
Oculus Go will be available in the rest of the world in early 2018, while the Mi VR Standalone will be available only in China in 2018.
Commenting on the partnership, Tang Mu, VP of Mi Ecosystem and head of Mi Lab, said:
We are excited to work with Oculus on these standalone devices that exceed expectations in terms of performance at a very attractive price. Xiaomi has always relentlessly pursued the best user experience and price-to-performance ratio. For the best experience, we consider every minute detail. Through our collaboration with Oculus, we have integrated world-class technologies and craftsmanship to produce a VR standalone that lets people immerse themselves in another world without being connected to smartphones or computers.
Hugo Barra, VP of VR at Facebook, said:
The standalone VR form factor represents the next significant phase of VR hardware development at Oculus. Through our partnership with Xiaomi, both Oculus Go and Mi VR Standalone represent our first step in delivering that sweet spot between mobile and PC VR. These devices will be, hands down, the easiest way to get into VR.