A bit disappointed in those specs I must admit, but I guess there’s a good chance I’ll end up buying it anyway, as I really long for some better resolution by now.
Can’t wait to see the first sim related reviews of it!
As for the O+, unfortunately that is not an option here in Europe, so there’s not much point in comparing it to that one (for me…)
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I have the O+ and find consistently that it tends to be slower, and that the diffusers blurrier image tends to partially negate its pixel advantage over the Rift. In practical use I also find that in DCS I can turn settings to maximum and get great fps, whereas it stutters and jumps in the O+. Further, in Aerofly I can fly maximum settings over New York or florida, and get hitches in the O+ unless I decrease settings a bit. I switch back and forth between the two headsets on a regular basis to test these differences.
https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/06/oculus-rift-leads-again-in-steams-december-hardware-survey/
The Rift started its life with a significant price premium that has since dropped much more drastically than its competition. My feeling is that the initial price points on Oculus’s will undergo a smaller but noticeable drop in cost, especially if other headsets prove too competitive. I suspect Oculus has pockets deep enough to buy market share with cheaper prices.
Also, don’t underestimate the dislike out there for WMR’s clunky software and even Clunkier controllers, which I myself find close to unusable and that drain batteries at record speed. I would be honestly tempted to switch to avoid those two things, especially as I could sell one or both of my headsets to recoup the price.
Check out how to set it up here - Samsung Odyssey setup instructions, tips & tricks. I agree running lower resolutions can help performance, but then so can running at 60 Hz and doing all the usual fun and games of optimization. The OLED screen of the O+ is pretty much nothing like the original Rift.
For market share on the PC, you’re talking about a 2% lead, in a margin of error of what, from a Steam survey result set? Ok, they have the lead if you want them to have the lead, I’m good.
Oculus doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s Facebook. I agree they have really deep pockets.
For people that love the Oculus Touch controllers, you have to realize that these are WMR style controllers with similar tracking. This headset is an evolution of Lenovo Explorer with some extra tracking camera viewpoints.
Basically as a flight sim enthusiast I find this product disappointing. The original Rift was over 3 years ago now, and I would have much preferred a Rift 2 that actually moved things forward, just like the original Rift did. I like my Rift and my O+, but can’t see me buying a Rift S - I really wanted to buy a Rift 2! 
I’m not so sure the S is that bad…
Considering the PC hardware that is required to run VR, the increased resolution is on par with what I can run, today. I can actually get to see the 1,5 PD rendering in real pixels.
And 80Hz. That’s 10 less than the rift. Will I notice? It’s 10 less FPS that must be rendered and isn’t 80FPS better than ASW 45FPS?
It’s basically a slightly improved Rift, that don’t need the constellation trackers.
It’s the S or the O+, for me… And given how easy the Rift is to use, compared to what I have gathered about the O+, I must say I’m leaning towards the S. But I will wait for some reviews.
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I think the O+ was barely worth the upgrade for me, in that for sims the screen is nice but the controllers for general VR and the fit without after-market stuff is not good.
I don’t really think a Rift to an O+ is that worthwhile an upgrade, and it was good for me because I needed another VR set. If it was a case of the O+ replacing my Rift then I doubt I would have bothered to keep it. The pros vs cons doesn’t make it a clear case of a good upgrade.
For the Rift S to upgrade an existing Rift, if you have a $700+ graphics card then I’m not sure why for driving and simming the HP Reverb isn’t worth a look. I mean it’s $599 vs $399 but has 2.5 times the pixels…
I don’t think the Rift S makes a clear case of being a good upgrade to an existing Rift. I think it’s probably more a ‘My Rift is broken, replace it’ sort of deal.
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QLED isnt it ?
Technically a AMOLED I think.
I’m more than likely going to give it a try. Even with my new system and 2080 Ti, judging by the experience I had with the O+, I don’t think we are ready for the HP Reverb, at least for something like DCS. The big thing for me is the platform. IMHO (for what it’s worth), Oculus has a significantly superior platform when compared to WMR/SteamVr etc. As mentioned already, it just works, and gives a better experience. There is more to a good VR experience than the resolution alone.
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Seeing stuff in flight sims is really important to me. Being able to read gauges, spot targets is worth a lot. We’re frustratingly close to VR nirvana. 
Once set-up, it is not that different to Oculus. I jump between the two a lot and don’t really get this ‘WMR is hard’. I do understand it is different from what is used to. They are all the same really, as you’ve been in one virtual house then you’ve been in them all.
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After several months with the headset, I’ve even written a guide or two. What I notice about running at 60hz is that you lose a significant amount of apparent screen brightness, and a bit of flickering becomes apparent as well. Overall I don’t like that setting.
However, armed with that info, I used the Oculus tray tool and set asynchronous timewarp to ‘none’ for all titles. Sure enough, Images in the Oculus became much brighter, at least partially negating the Odysseys brightness advantage.
I then did some research confirming what I found, and noted some recent users commenting on the notable brightness change on the Oculus go when changing from 60 to 72hz, and a few tech articles on the subject.
Which does make me wonder if the Rift S will tend to be less bright due to the lower refresh rate.
Interesting comparisons with a journo that used a lot of the recent ones, including the Rift S and HP Reverb here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/b3ebw4/hey_roculus_ive_used_every_recently_launched_or/
Some interesting bits (for me):
Let’s talk about “clarity” (which I use as an overarching term for how ‘clear/immersive’ the view through the headset looks, and factors in display characteristics and lenses). I’m going to exclude Varjo and Pimax because those are more niche headsets and harder to make a direct comparison for a simple list.
More Clarity
- Reverb
- Vive Pro
- Rift S
- Quest
- Go
- Rift
Less Clarity
Q. Rift S: Did you felt that the absence of “true black” was noticeable? Did you experienced white bleeding with the LCD display?
I didn’t get to pick my demo content, so I didn’t get to pick the ideal test environments to see how Rift S contrast stacks up, but I did end up in a fairly dark environment in Stormlands and was quite surprised at how good the contrast appeared. Without knowing exactly how that scene should look (since it was new to me), it’s tough to really nail down the difference in dark colors between Rift and Rift S, but I was pleasantly surprised with Rift S in that dark scene.
More clearly, I would say that Rift S tracking coverage is quite a bit better than WMR, and a bit worse than Consetllation/SteamVR Tracking. : )
Q. Very simple, which is your favorite?
Of which headsets? If we’re just talking Rift or Rift S, I think Rift S is the better, more usable headset overall. Among the broader set of headsets, it really depends what you’re doing with them. For instance, sim racers are probably going to love Reverb for the fidelity (and that would probably be my pick for that use-case).
Curious about the headphone tech they are using on the Rift S…
Still on mobile but enjoying reading the observations.
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Q. What is the inbuilt audio like on the S compared to the CV1?
I didn’t get a good sense for quality because the ambient noise in the environment was too loud, but I suspect it’ll be worse simply because of the limitations of not having a large driver right next to your ear. I also think the loss of some audio isolation kind of sucks; ambient and spontaneous noises in the real world that don’t correspond to what you’re seeing in the virtual world can be really immersion breaking.
Of course, you can plug in your own 3.5mm headphones, but it’s already been well established by prior VR headsets that fiddling with another pair of headphones is way more friction than you might think. Not to mention that not all headphones (in fact, probably most high end headphones) are not going to fit comfortable around the Rift S headband.
For Go, sure why not. For Rift S, where your customers have invested in high-end PC components for maximum immersion… I don’t think moving to an open-air audio design is the right call.
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Haha…so I can listen to The Bachelor, my cat meowing, and my RWR all at the same time? Awesome!
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I’m hoping against hope they they or somebody else come up with a headphone attachment…
I think it has a jack…so you could I guess use some comfy and nice quality ear buds maybe?
Which seems slightly awkward to me. Oh, well.
I’m still interested.
I also like the HP headset on general principals, but suspect it’s going to be a son-of-a-gun to keep the frame rates up.
And we still have not seen the Kosmos…
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I agree with that. I have some serious doubts on the HP side with DCS and X-Plane. 
My dream scenario is that Wags (with his new Pimax 5k that he is using, according to a recent podcast) keeps pushing for DCS optimizations, they find the ‘sleep 10;’ line in the terrain rendering engine, optimize it and we push forward to better frames, meaning better potential resolution (even if less Hz).
The other thing is perhaps DX12 will pull a rabbit out of a hat, and the implemention of variable rate shading (allowing for a simple fixed foveated resolution on the outside of the lens focal points, as part of OpenVR/Oculus SDK) becomes a reality, i.e. Microsoft adds Variable Rate Shading support to DirectX 12 - Graphics - News - HEXUS.net
The Valve Cosmos is the wild card, but when it comes to Valve, they are a complete mystery as per usual. Generations of people have died waiting for the Gaben to say stuff but withered away… 
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I would like to see that one dude that does the through the lens comparisons do a new series for this latest wave of devices. I’m sure he will…
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