Facebook came up with a new low-cost virtual reality headset.
Yes, that’s true!

Brief: A virtual reality headset that will work without needing the requirement of an expensive computer, a progress designed to kickstart the promising technology’s slow start.

“The CEO of the company has also mounted a resolute protection of the company’s pledge on virtual reality and made a bet that the VR is likely to become a service that would be used by many and around billion of people in the near future.”

In the present era, virtual reality is being largely used by video gamers, but on the other hand, Facebook along with Microsoft and Google is betting on it becoming the next big computing technology. The company has so far managed to test a virtual reality version of its social network that lets the users talk in real time.

As Facebook is trying hard to broadening the appeal of VR to the mass market. However, it is also mentioned that the $200 device will not be going on sale until the beginning of 2018, missing this year’s holiday sales season. Facebook has also decreased the cost of its existing Oculus Rift headset, as its high price has been criticised for making the technology was going out of the reach of the general public.

The headsets have been sold in fewer numbers than many in Silicon Valley had hoped. This Facebook’s great move is following Google’s announcement of standalone VR headsets that was developed in partnership with the renowned device makers HTC and Lenovo. However, Facebook’s lower-cost VR headset has given prohibitive costs and limited range of content outside of the video gaming world.

At the Oculus Connect developer conference in San Jose, Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg has launched the new headset; stating that it was hoped to creating “the most accessible VR experience ever”.

The $200 price point was a significant drop from the total cost of any existing PC or smartphone-based VR system where the total cost including the controller, headset, and computer usually runs into several hundred dollars.

According to IDC, sales of virtual reality headsets have grown up by 25.5pc to 2.1m in the second quarter of the year with just a sale of 250,000 headsets. Moreover, the headsets have predicted that the sales will pick up a higher pace as the VR headsets have become cheaper and much powerful than ever; expanding from 13.5m this year to 61.2m in 2021.

However, Mr. Zuckerberg has stated that many people think that “A lot of the most important tech don’t start off mainstream”. Whereas, “Some people say VR is isolating and antisocial, but I actually think it’s the opposite.”

Mr. Zuckerberg has briefed the product as a “high-quality affordable experience that doesn’t tether you to a PC” and has also stated that the Oculus Go will hit the “sweet spot”; between the smartphone-powered Gear VR, which Oculus produced in partnership with Samsung, and the PC-based Oculus Rift.

Mr. Zuckerberg has also stated that the device would be able enough of running many existing apps and games that are available for the Gear VR. The VR was basically designed for hanging out with friends, watching movies, and playing games in Facebook’s social VR apps.

Whereas, on the other hand, Google’s opposing all-in-one headset that was announced at Google I/O in May has no defined release date and is expected to cost at middle hundreds of dollar range. Moreover, Oculus is also working on a higher-fidelity experience that would be helpful in untethering as well.
The Go headset comes up with embedded cameras in the headset that lets the device track accurately what moves a person is making; that makes it unnecessary the deployment of cameras around in the room. Such a setup is required for rival HTC Vive and the Rift. This ultimate inside-out tracking feature is becoming a standard in recent competing headsets from hardware makers like HP, Inc. (HPQ, +0.93%), Dell Technologies, and Samsung’s new HMD Odyssey VR headset. The headsets sold by Dell, HP, and others; require personal computers to operate.

Mr. Zukerberg has also stated that- the new headset is also expected to come up with motion controllers that will help people in picking up and interacting with digital objects in the virtual world. The facebook’s head of Oculus Hugo Barra talked boastingly about the Go’s size, stating that it is super lightweight.

Although, the Geoff Blaber at CCS Insight stated that “Facebook’s commitment over this is the next big communications platform is clear but its still very early; however the focus is very firmly on the user base and audience”.

However, one of the biggest challenges for Facebook is getting consumers to just experience VR. Moreover, Facebook is betting on hardware pricing for broadening VR appeal. A price range of $199 for the new standalone headset and $399 for the Oculus Rift bundle is punchy but it’s still a hard sell.

Psychology, the Biggest Salesman

Many people still think that $200 for a VR headset is too much. The point of this conclusion is that the VR still needs a breakthrough in mainstream mentality. As all think that computers are obligatory; they are needed to think the same way about VR.

So, as Facebook launches new low-cost virtual-reality headset; people expect facebook’s Virtual Reality headset to be as booming as Facebook itself.