Oculus Quest and Rift S now shipping

The Facebook-owned virtual reality technology firm Oculus began shipping its latest VR headgear today. Some people are calling the Oculus Quest the ‘iPod of VR.’

Pre-orders for the PC-free Oculus Quest and the higher end Oculus Rift S opened up three weeks ago.

The official Oculus blog post announcing the launch describes the new hardware as an “all-in-one, fully immersive 6DOF VR” experience.

“We’re bringing the magic of presence to more people than ever before — and we’re doing it with the freedom of fully untethered movement.”

From the Oculus launch post:

Today marks an important moment for the VR community, as both Oculus Quest and Rift S begin shipping now! With all-in-one, fully immersive 6DOF VR, we’re bringing the magic of presence to more people than ever before—and we’re doing it with the freedom of fully untethered movement. Our commitment to PC-powered VR gaming continues, with incredible titles like Asgard’s Wrath, Defector, and Stormland on the horizon. Combined, the addition of Quest and Rift S to our hardware portfolio will help developers usher in the next level of VR gaming. We’ve been blown away by the community’s response since we opened pre-orders for Quest and Rift S at F8, and we’re excited for your patience and dedication to pay off in a big way.

Didn’t place a pre-order? Buy the VR headset that works best for you today at oculus.com/quest or oculus.com/rift-s.

From Natasha Lomas at TechCrunch:

The Oculus blog contains no detail on pre-order sales for the headsets — beyond a few fine-sounding words.

Meanwhile, Facebook has, for months, been running native ads for Oculus via its eponymous and omnipresent social network — although there’s no explicit mention of the Oculus brand unless you click through to “learn more.”

Instead, it’s pushing the generic notion of “all-in-one VR,” shrinking the Oculus brand stamp on the headset to an indecipherable micro-scribble.

[PHOTO: Oculus]