It has been officially confirmed that Xiaomi has joined with Oculus, and the companies will introduce two standalone VR headsets, the Oculus Go and the Xiaomi Mi VR Standalone. They are looking forward to bringing the high-quality VR within reach of a larger mass.
The Mi VR Standalone headset will be released only in China. Oculus Go, on the other hand, will be made available all over the world. Oculus Go was announced back in October 2017 at Oculus Connect. With these devices, both Mi & Oculus promise to bring more freedom and accessibility to VR. These standalone VR headsets are literally ‘standalone’ since they won’t require any cable, external sensors, or dropped-in mobile phones.
Both the companies will be working with Qualcomm Technologies, and the powerful ‘Snapdragon Mobile VR Platform’ will be used in both devices. They are expected to be more than enough to fulfill the VR processing demands in these standalone devices. The innovation and experience in consumer electronics of Xiaomi, accompanied by the industry-leading VR engineering and expertise of Oculus, is expected to create some magic. Cutting-edge technologies and a high level of craftsmanship are being expected by users all around the world.
Tang Mu, VP of Mi Ecosystem and head of Mi Lab, was quoted earlier, “We are excited to work with Oculus on these standalone devices that exceed expectations in terms of performance at a very attractive price. Xiaomi has always relentlessly pursued the best user experience and price-to-performance ratio. For the best experience, we consider every minute detail. Through our collaboration with Oculus, we have integrated world-class technologies and craftsmanship to produce a VR standalone that lets people immerse themselves in another world without being connected to smartphones or computers.”
The standalone VR form factor represents the next significant phase of VR hardware development at Oculus. Through our partnership with Xiaomi, both Oculus Go and Mi VR Standalone represent our first step in delivering that sweet spot between mobile and PC VR. These devices will be, hands down, the easiest way to get into VR. – Hugo Barra, VP of VR at Facebook
The core hardware, including a 2K high-resolution fast-switch LCD screen, next-generation lenses, and integrated spatial audio technology, is indifferent to the two devices. Apart from these jaw-dropping configurations, the devices come with a vast content library of movies, 360° videos and interactive games. These can be accessed from the Mi VR Store.
Mi VR Standalone comes with an integrated spatial audio technology that has been developed by Oculus. The audio drivers are built directly into the headset. This arrangement makes it much easier & faster to get in and out of VR much. So, the headsets can easily be shared with others. For private listening purposes there is a 3.5mm headphone jack as well.
The Mi VR Standalone boasts of a really powerful video player and a localized social experience, courtesy of the Oculus technology. It supports both the Oculus Mobile SDK and the Mi VR SDK. Xiaomi is also working with the developers to make some of the popular games, videos and apps from the Oculus Store available to the Mi VR Store in China.
Are you excited about these standalone VR devices? Do let us know in the comments section below.
