Oculus will reportedly end the sales of the Rift S headset next spring. It is discontinuing the PC-based VR device to focus on the standalone Oculus Quest 2, which can also be tethered to a computer through Oculus’ Link feature.
Quest 2 product manager Prabhu Parthasarathy calls the Quest 2’s release the right moment for us to move to a single headset. Link, which uses a USB-C cable to support PC VR games on the Quest, was launched experimentally for the original Quest in 2019. The feature will emerge from beta later this year, officially making the $299 Quest 2 a dual-purpose headset.
The Quest 2 will connect to PCs through the same Oculus app as the Rift. And Parthasarathy says Oculus will keep supporting PC-based VR as a distinct platform from the standalone Quest system. That includes supporting the Rift for the near future.
The Rift S will also continue to support logging in with a non-Facebook Oculus account until 2023, unlike the new Quest 2, which requires a Facebook login.
Facebook promoted the Quest as its primary VR headset last year, leaving the Rift S out of upgrades like controller-free hand tracking.
Oculus has maintained for years that the Rift line is a gold standard for playing high-end PC games. But the Rift S — a successor to the original 2016 Oculus Rift — came with compromises, including lenses with no focus adjustment. Facebook recently discontinued its Oculus Go headset.
Last year, Oculus released its second-generation Rift, the Rift S, but it was more of an upgrade than a full generational shift, incorporating key Quest features like self-contained, inside-out camera tracking.
Parthasarathy said: “We think that Quest 2 is the best of both worlds when it comes to VR experiences.”
