Battered by the HTC Vive and Playstation VR, Facebook plans £150 Oculus VR headset, according to reports
Launch planned for October as Facebook plays catch-up in VR
A virtual reality headset price war is about to break out with Facebook reportedly planning to release a cut-price Oculus headset that will cost just $200 - or around £155 in the UK.
That's according to Bloomberg, which claims that the so-called Oculus 'Pacific' will bridge the gap between entry-level smartphone based VR - exemplified by Google Carboard - and high-end headsets that need to be hooked up to an expensive PC with a thick wodge or wires in order to function.
The Xiaomi-made device will "represent an entirely new category", the report claims, as it will be able to operate without the need for any additional hardware.
It'll be lighter than the Oculus Rift and Samsung's Gear VR headset, according to Bloomberg, but will offer more powerful graphics thanks to an as-yet-unspecified Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU.
It won't offer positional tracking, though, a feature found on Google's standalone Daydream VR headsets and, according to reports, Samsung's upcoming Exynos III. However, Oculus will reportedly release a second-generation version of the 'Pacific' headset that will offer positional tracking functionality.
A wireless remote will reportedly be included, not dissimilar to the one included in the newer version of the Samsung headset.
The device reportedly will be launched in October, and The Verge notes that an unveiling will likely take place at the company's Oculus Connect 4 event, which takes place on the 11th and 12th of the month.
It'll go on sale priced at just $200, making it much more affordable than the current Oculus Rift that costs £400 and requires a £1,000+ PC to operate. The device will reportedly carry the Xiaomi branding in China, with Bloomberg noting that former Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra was recently hired as Oculus' VR boss.
Commenting on the rumours, Oculus neither confirmed, nor denied, the reports: "We don't have a product to unveil at this time, however we can confirm we're making several significant technology investments in the standalone VR category."