Oculus Rift Wins The VR Preorder Race
Preorders for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset start Wednesday, but all the details will stay under wraps until then.
LEARN MOREOculus Rift Price Drop Could Mean Tough Times Ahead For The VR Set
The Oculus Rift dropped in price for the second time this year — and that raises some questions about the VR set's future.
Oculus Rift Price Drop Could Mean Tough Times Ahead For The VR Set
Getty Images
July 10, 2017
At the start of the year, an Oculus Rift headset and two Touch controllers would set you back about $800. Now, it's half of that.
Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, is slashing the price as part of a six-week "Summer of Rift" special sale.
That makes right now a good time to get a Rift. But it could also be a troubling sign for the hardware's future.
This is its second price cut in a year, and it follows an announcement in February that Oculus was taking down hundreds of its Best Buy demo stations.
Best Buy employees told Business Insider they would regularly go days without one demonstration.
The company hasn't tied the move to dropping sales, but research by SuperData says Oculus is lagging behind Sony's PlayStation VR and HTC's Vive.
VR technology doesn't seem to be taking off the way you may have imagined when you were a kid. Funding for VR and augmented reality declined in the first quarter of this year.
Still, Facebook's clearly dedicated to altered reality. It was a major part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's talk at the company's annual conference.
Creators of the Rift have always had moderate expectations for the first iteration of the product, and the former CEO of Oculus said they planned to put out a second version around this time. So it could be that the summer sale is their way of saying: "Out with the old, in with the new."
2:06
Are Posthumous Performances, Albums Innovative Or Just Plain Strange?
Deceased artists are still performing as holograms and releasing music by digital altering, raising concerns about one's posthumous digital likeness.
By Base Hologram / "An Evening With Whitney"3:51
Consumer Electronics Show Gives Glimpse At Different Future
Robots and virtual reality were two big innovative areas at this year's show.
By Newsy2:01
Consumer Electronics Show Highlights New Generation Of Robots
The annual CES trade show in Las Vegas showcases some of the top innovations in the technology and consumer electronics industry.
By Joe Buglewicz / APTop Stories
0:32
Israel, Gaza fighters trade fire after deadly West Bank raid
The flare-up in violence casts a shadow on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's expected trip to the region next week.
By Majdi Mohammed / AP2:34
Biden touts economic record, criticizes House Republicans
The president's first major economic address this year comes as the White House and Congress remain at odds over increasing the debt ceiling.
By Andrew Harnik / APState of emergency declared over violent Atlanta protest
Gov. Brian Kemp's declaration allows him to call up to 1,000 National Guard members to help "subdue riot and unlawful assembly."
By Alex Slitz / Ap