Announced at the beginning of March at F8, Facebook has launched Oculus Go, a new virtual reality headset going head to head with HTC’s Vive. What is new about it? What new features does it offer? The answer is in this article!
A high-performing, completely standalone headset
Unlike competing headsets such as Samsung’s Gear VR or HTC’s Vive, the Oculus Go cannot be connected to your smartphone or your computer. Instead, Facebook has banked on a store with more than 1,000 regularly updated applications. Among them you will find:
Netflix: this application simulates a comfortable living room in which to watch your favourite series; you will need an account in order to use it.
Facebook 360: allows you to browse your Facebook account in virtual reality. It is obviously more of an experience than an essential application, but Facebook wanted to leave its signature in the Oculus Go store.
Oculus Rooms: do you know VR Chat, the huge social network reserved entirely for VR headset owners? Facebook wanted to create the same thing in a more “closed” form: Oculus Rooms is an application that lets you interact with the headset’s user community by chatting or playing games. A new way of using a social network.
Can I develop applications for the Oculus Go?
Facebook has decided to give all developers permission to create applications for the Oculus Go. Depending on the type of software you want to develop (game, application, experience), you will need to use the following tools:
- Unity from version 5.6.5 onwards, adding the Oculus Utilities package
- Unreal from version 4.18 onwards, using the resources in the Oculus GitHub Mirror
- The Mobile SDK 1.14 for developing native applications
So if you are a developer and you want to create VR applications for your clients, or simply to give it a try, it is possible. It should be noted, however, that the headset is less powerful than its competitors. On the other hand, it is of good quality and sufficient if your only aim is to create virtual reality experiences.
Have you already had experiences in virtual reality? Have you already developed VR applications? Tell us in the comments, and do share your creations with us — at Numendo we are big fans of artistic creations built around virtual reality!
If you enjoyed this article, you should know that we have other articles on VR/AR on our blog.
