Review
HARDWARE
OCULUS RIFT S
Inside-out tracking makes the new Rift an
attractive option. By Bo Moore
T
he Oculus Rift S sits
at a crossroads. In one
direction is the
Oculus Quest, a
standalone headset
that doesn’t require being tethered
to a gaming PC, for the same price
as the Rift S. In the other direction
is the upcoming Valve Index, at
more than double the price but
with 144Hz screens and much more
advanced sensors. In the middle is
the Rift S, replacing the outgoing
original Oculus Rift.Let’s start with what the Rift S does well.
Visually, it offers a 1280x1440 display
(per eye), an upgrade over the Rift’s
1200x1080. After spending a few hours
smashing bots in Robo Recall or fiddling
around with the virtual desktop, it’s
clear the new headset offers an
improved viewing experience, despite
the modest resolution bump. I didn’t
notice the ‘screen-door’ effect at all,
though it’s noticeable when reading text
on menus or the virtual desktop. One
downside is the display runs at 80Hz
instead of the previous Rift’s 90Hz.REVIEW
The other highlight of the Rift S is its tracking system.
Where previous room-scale VR efforts like the Oculus Touch
controllers and HTC Vive required base stations—sensors you
place around your room to track the headset and controllers
in 3D space—the Rift S uses an inside-out tracking system.
Five cameras on the headset track the controllers and
headset, removing the need for external base station trackers.
This is a massive improvement for the VR experience. I
was able to quickly get the Rift S set up, drawing a boundary
area on the ground instead of relying on where the sensors
are positioned to determine my safe-play zone (or placing or
mounting sensors around my room). The lack of base stations
also means fewer wires headed into your computer. The Rift S
only requires a single DisplayPort and USB 3.0 connection,
both contained in a single tether from the headset.
The Rift S is comfortable to wear, with an adjustable velcro
strap on top mixed with a dial-controlled headband that made
it easy to put on, take off, and adjust as needed. It’s also
surprisingly light, weighing only 1.2 lbs. That’s actually a touch
heavier than the original Rift headset, but it’s distributed
better so the weight is less noticeable.
The headband has built-in speakers that provide spatial
audio while still letting you hear the sounds of your
surroundings. The sound quality was surprisingly solid