TECH - Facebook Introduces A New Virtual Reality Headset

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced an ambitious goal of getting a billion people into virtual reality and said he wants to ensure the technology is “a force for good.”     The comments, were made on Wednesday at Facebook’s annual Oculus Connect developers conference.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new virtual reality headset on Wednesday — it's called "Oculus Go," and it's a $200 VR headset that doesn't need a PC or a phone to power it.

Facebook's new $200 Oculus headset doesn't require a phone or PC.

Mark Zuckerberg described Oculus Go as a headset intended to fit into the "sweet spot" between mobile VR headsets — like Google Daydream, and Samsung's Gear VR — and high-end VR headsets like Facebook's own Oculus Rift, and HTC's Vive.

The headset is the latest step towards Facebook's ultimate goal of getting 1 billion people into virtual reality, a milestone Zuckerberg specifically called out on stage alongside the announcement of Oculus Go.

What separates Oculus Go from devices like Gear VR and Oculus Rift is that it doesn't require an external device to power the experience. In the case of Gear VR and Google Daydream, you insert a phone into the headset which both powers the software and displays the visuals. In the case of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the headsets plug directly into a powerful (often expensive) PC.

With Oculus Go, there is no external device required. You pay $200 and get a VR headset that exists as a standalone experience. A simple gamepad is included, and even audio is integrated, there are speakers on the headset, as well as a standard headphone jack if you want to be a bit more private.

In terms of games and applications, it sounds like most of the stuff that already works on Google Daydream and Gear VR also works on Oculus Go.

Here's everything we know about what powers the Oculus Go experience:

The display is described as a, "high-resolution fast-switch LCD screen."
It has a 2560 x 1440 resolution.

The processor is unknown.
The Oculus Go headset is planned for an "early" 2018 launch, and starts at $200.