During 2016 we saw howthe explosion of virtual realitybrought usseveral devices to the marketand a discreet dose of content.Here you have to differentiate between glasses that connect to a PC or console, such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Live or PS VR.On the other hand we have the glasses that use a smartphone, such as the Google Cardboard and the Samsung VR Gear.And there are also independent glasses, which do not need PC or mobile for their operation, but there are not yet available in the market, although this year we might have surprises.
According toMark Gurman, our old acquaintance Apple news filterer, says that Facebook has everything ready to announce its new Oculus virtual reality glasses, which will bethe first to be independent and will only cost $200, so they seek to place the brand Oculus again on the radar.
Independent VR glasses for $200
Today, the global virtual reality market is dominated by Samsung, whoaccording to IDCholds a 22% stake, whileOculus is in fourth place, behind HTC and Sony, with only 5% and less than 100,000 sold units.Facebook has tried to reverse this trend by lowering the Rift twice,from $599 to $499 in March this year, and recentlyfrom $499 to $399 a few days ago.
You may also like to read: Mi VR: Xiaomi enters virtual reality as you know, with good design and aggressive price
Now on Facebook want to change the strategy to see that they have not been able to compete against HTC and Sony, so they will launch at the end of the year their first independent glasses, whichwill be portable and focused on casual games, social networks and video consumption.Facebook is so sure of the potential of these glasses that ensure that they will change the market just as Apple did with the arrival of the iPhone 10 years ago.
The devicewill go on sale in early 2018 and will cost just under $200, which Facebook hopes to give a major blow in the sector.No doubt this is an interesting strategy as it is also expected the arrival ofthe first independent glasses by Lenovo and HP, which will be based onGoogle’s Daydreamplatform.Also, Samsung is also expected to present an update to Gear VR to make them independent, which would continue to use the technology developed by Oculus.
But what is undoubtedly the most interesting point is that these new Oculus glasses would bemade by Xiaomiand would have Snapdragon 835 processor from Qualcomm, who by the wayis also involved in this business of VR glasses.These new independent glasses would be marketed under the Oculus brand worldwide, while in China they would carry the Xiaomi brand, would have an exclusive interface and contents aimed at the Chinese market.
It should be mentioned that these independent glasses are not the ‘Oculus Santa Cruz’ that Facebook advanced in October 2016, which would have the power of glasses connected to the PC and would have a higher price, since they would be focused on a more professional market.The new Oculus eyewear is expected to be presented at the upcoming developer conference in the last quarter of this year.
