Oculus VR has upgraded its virtual reality headset prototype with higher resolution and built-in audio, marking the first major development since it was bought by Facebook for $2bn earlier this year.
Dubbed the ‘Crescent Bay’, the new device is lighter and lets users walk around while wearing the headset (rather than needing to remain seated).
The device has been made available to developers, but the company said it is not ready to sell a device to consumers.
The announcement was made by Chief Executive Brendan Iribe said on Saturday at an Oculus developers conference in Hollywood.
Unlike the last developer kit, it has tracking LEDs on the rear of the unit so users can spin around in their chair and move around without getting sick.
Also, for the first time, the headset has (optional) built-in headphones, which adjust in all directions. Oculus says positional 3D audio is going to be a huge component of virtual reality from now on.
“Starting today, we are working on audio as aggressively as we are on the vision side,” says Iribe.
“[Crescent Bay] is as massive a leap as we made from DK1 to DK2,” says Iribe. “This prototype shows the quality, the features, the presence we need to deliver consumer VR.”
The company plans to have VR app stores on iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone, and a specific one for Samsung’s Gear VR, in addition to a web browser experience of some sort.
Competition in the VR space is heating up and Google is working on its own ‘Cardboard’ smartphone-based version.
Watch this promo video from Oculus VR discussing the implications of virtual reality here: