Oculus Rift Launches VR Headset for Android

Oculus Rift will launch its Virtual-Reality Headset for Android only, not iOS. The announcement was made at the GamesBeat 2013 conference last Tuesday. The Oculus Rift PC headset will also be coming to mobile Android devices in 2014. The upcoming mobile device is expected to be lighter and use a mobile device processor for consumers.

Mobile VR

The Oculus Rift is a next-generation virtual reality headset designed for immersive gaming. Oculus Rift's CTO John Carmack recently said the following in an interview with Engadget, “We’ve also talked about the potential for mobile VR, especially for experiences like VR Cinema and games with creative visuals that don’t require a high-end graphics card. The way I believe it's going to play out is you will eventually have a head-mounted display that probably runs Android, as a standalone system, that has a system-on-a-chip that's basically like what you have in mobile phone. ” Oculus Rift’s VR Headset for Android will join Google’s open source operating system.

Oculus Rift

It's been over one year since developers raised an estimate of $2.5 million from Kickstarter. Its virtual reality goggles, and Android Oculus Rift PC headset are currently in development. Android’s device processor is planned to be used for the Android Oculus Rift PC headset in developing 3D images. Oculus also confirmed no plans for an iOS VR goggles model for the future. Details are still unknown if new features are to be created or if past developments will be rolled out.

Second Rift Development Kit

A second rift development kit is also in the making. Oculus Rift's CTO John Carmack recently said the following during a video interview with Engadget “To clarify: we’d like to ship a new development kit before the consumer version that provides near identical features that developers can build on and test against for the Rift’s launch. That said, we have no plans to announce a new development kit this year. The timing of a new dev kit is tied to the launch of the consumer Rift, and we’ll keep the community posted. Also, we're working to ensure that content built using the current Rift development kit is compatible with new Oculus hardware, though there will be some integration required to take advantage of the new features, especially for the best experience."

Virtual-Reality that is introduced to the Android platform will deliver new opportunities. The Oculus Android SDK runs internal. The company is presently working to optimize for its mobile chipsets. The Android version is planned to be designed for ARM chips devices to support offload image processing.  

The current driving forces for virtual reality technologies is the consumer demand in mobile computing and m-commerce industry. Virtual-Reality Headsets which are standalone is Virtual Reality’s future. According to recent VR/AR Report released by Markets and Markets, “Global dedicated devices augmented reality market is expected to reach $659.98 million by 2018, whereas the immersive virtual reality market is expected to reach $407.51 million by 2018."  Mobile computing and m-commerce is rapidly advancing.

It's apparent from all the latest raves that The Oculus Rift is a game developer’s dream come true and developers are excited for its future. Oculus company has been a major driving force for virtual reality being at the core of technology advancements. Virtual Reality will allow Android users to experience beyond their expectations.

The Oculus Rift VR Headset for Android is one smart innovation!