oculus rift s (1) — Image courtesy Oculus

Black Friday Deal Brings Oculus Rift S to $350

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Nov 1, 2019

Oculus Rift S, the company’s mid-generation hardware update to the Rift platform, only just launched a few months ago, but it’s already getting its first discount this upcoming Black Friday.

Lenovo has published its 2019 Black Friday ad, and to our surprise it’s knocking $50 off the $400 Oculus Rift S.

It’s very likely that we’ll also see the same deal replicated elsewhere, including Oculus’ own online store and a host of official retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon, NewEgg, and more.

Image courtesy Lenovo

Launched back in May, Rift S is more of a remaster than a sequel to the original 2016-era Oculus Rift. With its inside-out tracking (no external tracking sensors needed), halo-style headstrap, and higher resolution LCD panel, it makes for a pretty complete package for VR newcomers—provided you have a PC capable of playing VR games.

How to Tell if Your PC is VR Ready

Before you go counting your pennies though, make sure to check out our deep dive review on Rift S to see if it’s right for you, or if you’d be better off springing for the best-in-class PC VR headset currently available, Valve Index.

Not into PC gaming? Well, we haven’t heard about any sales on Oculus Quest just yet, the company’s high-end standalone VR headset starting at $400, but Oculus hasn’t released word on its Black Friday plans, so we’ll be sure to update you when they do.

aasdfa

Anybody hear anything about the index going on sale anywhere? even though i doubt it will.

Also the quest going on sale would be huuuuuge for the industry but idk if that really will either it also will sell just fine regardless.
- Diana Medina
  
  for the price of Index you could get Rift S and an awesome rtx 2080 super video card.
  - Immersive Computing
    
    Or you can pair Index with 2080Ti and enjoy much stronger feelings of presence, the entire reason I’m interested in VR.
    
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0ed36525767ded5e5a25e945ea8978120a83a1518df013b98f78cbb6e32ef462.jpg
    - Andrew Jakobs
      
      Funny guy… why not even spend more money on even better headsets…. If you’re throwing that much money at VR anyway, why even the 2080TI, why nog go for the professional Nvidia cards..
      - Immersive Computing
        
        Index’s secret sauce is ultra low persistence and high frame rate, no one else has that technology at the moment?
        
        The Quadro RTX cards ? RTX 4000 is limited to 8GB DDR(less than my 2080Ti), RTX 5000 with 24 GB is £2,400.
      - bmichaelb
        
        Not too many games will run at 144 fps on current hardware though. That’s why it’s still experimental. The better argument would be the 120 Hz capability, an increase of 30 fps above the 90 the Rift CV1 and Vive headsets do.
      - Immersive Computing
        
        It’s not experimental, it’s just another setting in steamVR as long as you have the power.
        
        Depends on your preferences for frame rate vs supersampling, your comment about 30hz increase is very important though.
        
        This morning I was in the extended house steam environment, 144hz and 300% supersampling = 0.7% reprojection and no frames dropped, absolutely stunning, sitting watching the fireplace.
        
        Of course you can’t approach that in a complex game as you point out, but since I like using my Index for VR experiences and non gaming applications it’s a great option for presence.
      - bmichaelb
        
        From Valve’s own website:
        
        The Valve Index Headset runs at 120Hz with full back-compatibility to 90Hz, as well as an experimental 144Hz mode.
        
        As for The Lab at 144 Hz…yes, that’s what I meant by not all games will run at 144 Hz/fps with today’s hardware. The Lab is pretty simple compared to Arizona Sunshine, Gorn, or even Space Pirates, let alone something even more complex. It’s a great feature, but unfortunately, not everyone can afford the system able to run it at it’s full potential. At least not without foveated rendering and eye tracking. It’s definitely good for the industry though, as that will push the others to at least push to 120 Hz.
      - Immersive Computing
        
        I guess they call it experimental as it doesn’t always play nicely, I’ve had problems with physics in some games.
        
        Space Pirate Trainer runs beautifully in 144hz, The Lab runs well because it’s really well optimized.
        
        You are right it’s not inexpensive, but I only use my PC for VR so wanted the best experience currently available.
      - bmichaelb
        
        I’m the same way…took a year to build an i7-7700K, GTX 1080Ti, and 64 GB’s DDR-4 3200 RAM, costing $4K in total. That’s Canadian, with tax, and I got caught building during the mining craze, and when RAM was still way overpriced. That’s for my Rift CV1, where I also bought a 4 port USB 3.0 card, and 2 extra external sensors, for a total of 4 for tracking. I also want the best experience available. I would have bought an Index already, but Valve won’t ship to Canada…at least not yet. I’m literally a 35 minute drive from Valve headquarters in Bellevue, Washington…and I can’t even buy one. That’s ok though, as I’ll wait for the Rift CV2, or more than likely, a more powerful Quest CV2, which is expected to be a standalone that will connect to the PC, but with a higher frame rate than just 72 Hz the Quest is capped at. I just wish Oculus would allow us to use the external sensors still when we connect the Quest via the Oculus Link cable coming out this month. That would be the perfect hybrid. The Vive Cosmos requires you to buy a faceplate adapter to use the external Lighthouses, while the Quest uses the same Constellation tracking system for the controllers that the Rift CV1’s external sensors do. It would be a lot easier for Oculus to do it without having to buy an adapter like the Cosmos.
      - Immersive Computing
        
        It sucks Canadians cannot currently buy Index. I wouldn’t recommend using any import services as you may well need RMA support, I’ve had multiple hardware issues requiring RMA since launch.
      - bmichaelb
        
        That’s the main reason I wouldn’t use an import broker…unless they guaranteed to take care of the RMA if need be. Some will do that for you…but it takes longer, and you might have to ship to the broker before they even get it shipped off to the manufacturer. On top of that, the broker here in Canada, wantboard, wants $1530 CAD, plus tax, plus shipping. The damn thing’s only $1000 USD for the package, which comes to $1315 CAD, plus tax and shipping. The $1000 USD includes shipping in the countries it’s shipping to.
      - Immersive Computing
        
        Same reason I never bought a Samsung Odyssey, it’s not distributed here in the UK which meant using an import specialist and taking the risks for warranty or if it just didn’t fit?
      - bmichaelb
        
        Samsung’s warranty is only covered in the US, which is why I stayed away from the Odyssey. If it’s an import broker, it depends on what they promised before purchase in their fine print. Legally I don’t think they’re on the hook unless they offer to work with you on it, but I hear rules are different in the UK, giving the customer more rights than over here.
      - Immersive Computing
        
        We’re kinda still in EU (Brexit!?!) which has 2 year warranty on all goods sold into EU.
        
        But unsure if this applies if goods are purchased by intermediary.
    - KUKWES
      
      not worth the big investment when something much better in a year or two comes out. I would rather spend 500 or Below and just upgrade every 3 or 4 years.
      - Immersive Computing
        
        In tech there is always something new and better, you can wait and wait, or buy cheaper kit, or get the best that’s currently available?
        
        Remember the HTC Vive was £799 at launch (2016) so Index at £920 isn’t much more – £121 more. Rift cv1 and Touch wasn’t inexpensive either.
        
        None of these purchases are “investments”, but capital purchases that devalue once purchased, they certainly won’t increase in value over time.
    - Diana Medina
      
      look at all that modding he has on his Index…. I thought the Index was supposed to be too perfect and comes with its own bells and whistles?!
      - Immersive Computing
        
        No one has said Index is perfect, it’s flawed like other headsets (lens glare, lower contrast and black levels).
        
        It also has ergonomic issues for anyone who doesn’t fit the standard(narrow) face gasket – Vive came with narrow and wide.
        
        But, the big advantage is Index was designed to be modular and easy to adapt/hack. It allows a level of personalisation not possible with other headsets. A whole community has sprung up around modifying Index with numerous adaptions offered.
        
        So Index is certainly not perfect, but perhaps the best consumer headset currently available, and one open to adaption. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5070f6da138a58648b87b5e668ff1d7eb191826be663c66e35a1397dfa3644fd.jpg
The Bard

Odyssey+ went for 299$ – OLED, higher resolution, high definition audio speakers, multi platform – Oculus games, Viveport, Steam VR and WMR. Rift S is s*t compared to Odyssey+, and more expensive.
- Diana Medina
  
  nobody is interested for a sub par mixed reality headset.
- Xron
  
  with bad controllers?
- Michael May
  
  Bad tracking. Not worth more than 200 now. The Rift S is far superior.
- Justos
  
  1. Worse controllers
  2. Worse tracking
  3. Worse performance in oculus home due to the API wrapper (Revive)
  
  Im a fan of samsung but WMR sucks ass
  - Your hyperbole is asinine
    
    WMR tracking hasn’t sucked for over a year (much like Rift S, it got significant post updates), and the system requirements are ~immensely~ lower than the competition. My WMR has worked smoothly on five friend/family PCs that my Rift won’t. Combine that with Steam Family Sharing and i’ve converted three of them to buying their own WMR instead of laughing VR off :D (then a fourth got a PSVR).
    
    My WMR and PSVR are also my absolute go-tos when people need glasses.
    
    I’m also looking at Ojos for my disability service – the hygiene and replace-ability is a massive plus for us.
    
    Completely cede the point about Revive (ReMixed) though – that works fine on my VR ready machine but not at all on the ‘only able to VR because WMR requirements’ friends. And the fact that you can’t cost-effectively replace controllers outside of enterprise deals is pathetic.
    - david vincent
      
      Yeah hand tracking got better but you can’t do miracles with only 2 cameras. If only WMR headsets had 4 cams from the start…
  - david vincent
    
    Also a lot of users found it very uncomfortable (of course YMMV)
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Can’t get the Odyssey+ here in the netherland, unless you’re willing to pay double that price.. not gonna happen. Shame they hadn’t updated the controllers/tracking.. But looking forward to their next headset, but I’m afraid it will also only be available in the US and not in the EU..
- Yoann Heurtel
  
  The tracking is not so bad. Better fov too, but the display is blurry as hell !
Diana Medina

Nice!
Andrew Jakobs

Hopefully the Quest will also have a reduction, maybe I’ll pick up one then for testing purposes..
MountainK1ng

Meanwhile, everyone is like “What about the Quest?”
- shadow9d9
  
  Too front heavy. Not comfortable.
JesuSaveSouls

If the layaway was only a buck I could layaway 350 s oculus units.
Firestorm185

Been trying to figure out when to get my brother a headset so we can play together. Glad to see some good deals!
JakeDunnegan

I expect this to be the new permanent price. Probably be a Christmas special (a week before Christmas) that drops it to $320. In 2020, the Rift S will be $299. (That’s my opinion…) as the Quest without the cable remains $399 and with the Cable will eventually settle at $449.
- elua
  
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TonyVT SkarredGhost

The Quest won’t be discounted because it is selling well
- dk
  
  not to mention the S is basically a Go without the phone hardware driving it …it should be at least $250
  - Alexa
    
    I mean to be fair it does have five cameras and two controllers. But i agree that the price of it should be lower. I’m personally selling my quest to get Rift S since I want full fledged PCVR. I know Oculus link is coming, even John Carmack said it wont be as good. He said it doesn’t make sense to play beat saber with it for example because the latency is a bit higher than preferred for that sort of game.
    - dk
      
      with the Go resolution and fixed screen but slightly overclocked to 80hz …..it was designed with price in mind or profit in mind since it’s $400
      to put it another way it’s basically a quest with much cheaper screen setup and no sd835 or battery inside and it costs the same ….it should have been a gutted quest with 90hz for $100 less ….but than the 2 headsets wouldn’t be distinct enough and they won’t be making back the money for subsidizing the quest from hardware sales of the S just from game sales
    - Barıs Korkmaz
      
      I would say wait a little longer before selling because reviewers said there are basically no noticeable latency difference. Plus you have OLED with oculus quest.
AU

Anyone know if the Lenovo IdeaCentre T540 Gaming Desktop will support VirtualLink or Oculus Link over its USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type C port?
Roger Bentley

if best buy does 299 or 350 on BF im in
Trenix

This has been the plan the entire time. I’m pretty sure everyone knew this was going to happen. This is exactly why it had so many trade-offs in performance.