Oculus Go

Oculus Go overview

Oculus Go is the first fully standalone virtual reality glasses. It means that they work without connection to the computer, console or smartphone, only on the basis of the built-in processor. Oculus Go was released on May 1, 2018 as the youngest model in the Oculus range in order to make the audience be acquainted with virtual reality at an affordable price. This is "VR for all". And even if the gadget did not cause a revolution because of the poor power and quality of the picture, this is the first signal for flagship headsets — people like simple devices without wires.

Pros of Oculus Go

Fully standalone device. Oculus Go is wireless glasses which can work without any additional gadgets. It is convenient and it does not take very much time and effort to set up and adjust the device.
It works right out of the box. To immerse in the virtual world, you do not need to buy anything in addition. The kit includes one controller and the headset itself, this is enough for work.
Quality speakers. They are built in on the sides due to which they create a stereo effect. The sound resonates from the front part which adds volume. But it is better to use headphones in any crowded space, speakers are not vacuum.
There are many games and applications compared to its direct competitors. The number of versions available for download is more than a thousand including games of different genres, films, virtual spaces.
Affordable price. The version with 32 GB of memory on the official website costs 200 USD, with 64 GB — 250 USD.

Cons of Oculus Go

Not the best ergonomics. Almost the whole weight of the headset is concentrated completely on the cheekbones, the face sweats from the facial interfaces, and a gap is constantly visible in the lower part of the headset. As a result, you will not be able to play in the headset for a long time as you get tired.
The picture quality is poor. The display is IPS LCD, so the saturation and contrast are worse than in the older models. Because of the FFR system the resolution becomes worse closer to the edges. The overall impression about the resolution in games is not more than 720p.
Three degrees of freedom. Both the headset and the controller only recognize rotation by 360 degrees. There is no motion support at all, which makes it impossible to move around in space and it limits immersion consequently.
Weak battery. The battery lasts 2 hours at a maximum when you play games and 2.5 hours if you watch movies. On average, charging takes 3 hours. But you can charge and play simultaneously, although Oculus does not recommend users to do it. Taken into account the general tiredness from the VR, 2 hours of immersion are quite enough.
There is no memory card slot. The direct competitors from HTC and Lenovo have it, which adds points in the long run. In the future, standalone devices may require more than 64 GB of memory because now full VR games and movies weigh at least 2 GB. Another issue is that there are not so many of them for Oculus Go yet.

Competitors of Oculus Go

It does not make any sense to compare the gadget with top headsets VR for consoles, computers or even smartphones — it's a completely different segment. Therefore, it is logical to learn what the differences between the main standalone devices are. Here Oculus Go has only two competitors:

• HTC Vive Focus. Among the three models it has a better screen — the same as in Vive Pro, OLED with a resolution of 1600x1440 for each eye and a smoother picture due to the increased updating rate. It works on the basis of Snapdragon 835. The headset has six degrees of freedom, i.e. it supports movements and not just turnings. But there are very few games yet. The gadget costs from 500 USD.
• Lenovo Mirage Solo. Its screen is similar to Oculus Go, 1280x1440 for the eye, and the frequency is like in Vive Focus — 75 Hz, so the image is more familiar to the eyes and causes sickness less frequently. The processor is also the same as in the counterparts from HTC, that is Snapdragon 835. This gadget also supports both turnings and head movements. It uses the Daydream game library from Google. The price is 400 USD.

So, competitors are better than Oculus Go in terms of performance and, as it is said in documents, lenses. In reality, the picture is almost the same in all gadgets. The work time is also 2– 2.5 hours. In this regard, gadgets from Oculus and Lenovo look more promising than HTC ones because they support more games and movies. The only drawback is that both competitors support memory cards. At the same time, the price of 200 USD for the Go model still looks affordable.

Oculus Go design and ergonomics

The design and construction of the device is similar to Oculus Rift, it is only smaller and lighter. The body is made of matt gray plastic, and inside — a soft piece of knitwear material. The front aluminum panel is a radiator for heat dissipation, the cover-up must be removed from it. The rims of the lenses are made of rubber. The glasses are fastened on the head with the help of fabric straps with plastic clips and Velcros. It is a bit strange to wear them for the first time, but it is comfortable.

Since Oculus Go works autonomously, there are several elements of control on the case:

• The on / off button is at the center of the top edge, next to it is the LED sensor which shows the device status and the level of charging.
• The volume rocker is on the left from the power button if you look at the glasses from the inside. It works with headphones and built-in speakers. Both elements protrude slightly above the body.
• The micro-USB port is in the centre on the left edge from the user’s side. it is used for charging.
• 3.5 mm port — for USB, here you can connect external headphones.
• The proximity sensor is on the inside between the lenses. It turns off Oculus Go after taking it off.

Built-in speakers should be mentioned separately. Unlike its competitors, Oculus decided not to add a headset, but to put powerful amplifiers immediately. They are built into the side plastic fastenings, give a good voluminous sound. The effect improves the resonance from the front panel. If you are not pleased, turn on the headphones.
Ergonomics in glasses is not bad, but not perfect. Due to the fact that the position sensors are built into the headset, it can be put on as you like so that only to make yourself comfortable. Straps are easy to lift, and the main module with lenses moves. The gadget is fixed tightly, and there is enough space inside to play wearing glasses if you have poor eyesight.
There are also some unpleasant points. Oculus Go does not fully fit the face, so there is always a gap below. Light from there can interfere and spoil the feeling of immersion. But this is quite subjective and depends on a game / movie — if you are carried away, then you do not pay attention to the gap. Another inconvenience: the weight of 470 grams was almost completely transferred to the front part, so after some time the cheekbones become tired as if you smile a lot. Like in Rift, it is very hot in glasses even despite gaps, so in half an hour you can sweat.

Oculus Go display and lenses

There is only one screen with a diagonal of 5.5 inches, an IPS LCD matrix and a WQHD resolution of 1280x1440 for each eye. The maximum refresh rate is 72 Hz, the standard frequency is 60 Hz. You cannot configure it, the parameter is set by game developers. The glasses support three degrees of freedom, so that in the virtual world you can control only the turns of the head. Moving around the room and jumping are not supported.
The display operates on the FFR (Fixed Foveated Rendering) principle created to save power and battery capacity. It means that in the central part the image is displayed in full resolution and it drops to 1/16 of the maximum at the edges. You will notice the difference if you look closely at the edges.
The glasses have Fresnel lenses which expand the image from the screen. They are light and small, but suffer from artifacts: lighting rings around contrasting objects, for example, bright dots in the black background. However, in Oculus Go this problem is even less evident than in Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.

In addition, VR Oculus Go has not such a fine setting compared to the world flagships. The display and lenses cannot be adjusted to the eyes, which can affect the clarity of the picture. In comparison with the tops, shading and netting are more noticeable, i.e. it is possible to see pixels. Games create such an impression that the resolution is 720p or even 480p.

Oculus Go controller

There is a small wireless controller weighing only 65 grams in the kit with VR glasses. It works on one AA battery, and it is already in the box. An additional nice bonus is a short strap to hang the joystick on your hand and not to drop it during the game.
Есть четыре элемента управления:
There are four elements of control:

• Touch zone at the top. It is used for orientation and interaction. It is sensitive to the force of pressing.
• Back button. It is just under the touch zone. It returns to the previous screen.
• Oculus button ("Home"). It is lower on the front panel. It goes to the main menu.
• The trigger. It is on the back side under the forefinger. It is suitable for shooting and functions selecting.

The gadget has three degrees of freedom, just like the main module. Hence, the system also recognizes only turnings and not the device movement along the surface. It works via Bluetooth. There is a built-in gyroscope. In games, the controller will most often have to be used as a virtual hand for point-and-click actions.

The ergonomics of the controller is also quite good. Compared to Google Daydream View and Samsung Gear VR joysticks, it is more comfortable to hold it in hand. But responsiveness is not as good as in the native Oculus Rift controller.

Performance and autonomy of Oculus Go

The main feature, uniqueness and convenience of glasses is a built-in processor. The model here is from Qualcomm, Snapdragon 821, i.e. the flagship chip of 2016. It has four cores with a frequency of 2.4 GHz and an Adreno 530 graphics processor which is one of the best for smartphones. The internal memory of 32/64 GB is still enough, but with the development of the market for standalone VR devices the lack of a memory card slot can be a problem.

Oculus does not say anything about the capacity of native batteries, but judging by Palmer Luckey's tweet with the device teardown they have 2600 mAh. You can connect the device to the charger during the game, it is important not to remove the cable with sharp movements. The developers advise not to do so, but it will work.

Since Oculus Go works on the basis of its own hardware, then you can use it anywhere. It is better to do this while sitting or lying — you still do not need to move.

Software and games for Oculus Go

Although the system can be configured through glasses, for greater convenience, developers released an application called Oculus for iOS 10+ and Android 6.0+. Using it you can configure a gadget, download new games or movies without going into virtual reality. To set it up, simply launch the application on your smartphone or tablet and follow the instructions. You will need to log into your Oculus account and set up a Wi-Fi network for connection.

Games, demos, movies, virtual rooms and spaces are available in the official Oculus Store. In total, there are more than 1200 applications, including 575 free options. Most of the options are short demonstrations without a plot like Blade Runner 2049 with very limited control, Jurassic World: Blue with just watching dinosaurs or VR Basketball with throws of the ball into the basket. There are more impressive and active options, for example, the action game Tomb Raider VR or the space flight simulation game Anshar Online, but the lack of movements limits them severely.
Taken into account the graphics at the PlayStation 2 level and limited control capabilities, Oculus Go is better suited for cinema and social interaction. Among the most interesting projects we will outline the following ones:

• Oculus TV. It is a virtual cinema with a flat screen of 180 inches and support for both streaming video services and usual commercials or movies. The video quality is not perfect yet, besides the application does not support YouTube. But the trend pleases — Oculus is not fixed only on games.
• Oculus Rooms. It is a configurable social space which can be used by several people at the same time. You can watch movies, share photos, play board games. It is like a Skype of a new generation that allows you to interact with people from all over the world.
• Melody VR. It is an application for concerts and shows which allows you to be in the auditorium or directly on the stage. It supports a limited number of entries, but it looks interesting. Especially if you use vacuum headphones with the full effect of immersion.

Oculus Go packaging and arrangement

Rather a large cardboard box contains only the most necessary items for the device operation:

• Oculus Go glasses. They work without other gadgets and completely without wires.
• Oculus Go controller. AA battery and a hand strap are included.
• Power adapter. It is designed for 10 watts and is sold only in the USA version.
• USB / micro-USB cable. It is used to connect to the power adapter.
• Internal facial interface. It is optional for usage, you need it to play while wearing the glasses.
• Microfibre cloth. It is used to clean the lenses.
• Instruction and warranty.

According to Oculus, native charger adapter supports fast charging, but in fact it does not differ from third-party devices. Any charger of 10W is suitable, the cost is 10 USD–20 USD.

Accessories for Oculus Go

The official website offers several components and replacement parts for glasses. You can buy a replaceable facial cover for 20 USD, the same as in the kit. A new controller similar to the native one costs 25 USD. You cannot connect two joysticks at once.
In addition, Oculus sells an alternative fit of the replaceable covers designed for users with low nose bridges and high or wide cheekbones. It is made of the same materials as the native one, it costs 20 USD too. For people with poor eyesight who do not want to play wearing glasses, prescription lenses which are inserted directly into the Go retaining rings are sold. Lenses are available in different versions within SPH 0 — -8.0 (spherical correction) and CYL 0 — -2.0 (cylindrical correction). The price is 80 USD.

Problems with Oculus Go

Some special problems with the Oculus Go hardware and body were not noticed as well as frequent complaints. There is not even a theme "Reject and repair" in the device discussion section at 4PDA. The gadget is relatively new, until at least six more months will pass, there is no point in talking about its durability and reliability. But it looks respectable and of a high quality.

Software errors, on the contrary, appeared almost immediately after the device launch. The most common errors are related to applications. For example, games can make an APK error which is because of poor optimization of a third-party version under Oculus Go. In this case the application either does not start at all or will start, but with an impaired control.
Another two popular problems with software are the following:

• The picture moves by itself — it is a standard bug for VR related to the damaged calibration.
• The device does not charge — the proximity sensor may malfunction if it is covered by a hand or a belt.

Recommendations for Oculus Go usage

Oculus Go can be reset systematically or remotely through the application. Hard resets come in handy with strong glitches or before selling. After resetting, all the data from the memory will be deleted, but it remains in the online account. The reboot options can be carried out in the following ways:

• Through a smartphone. Open the Oculus application, "Settings" — the device name — "Advanced settings" — "Reset settings" — "Reset".
• Manually. Turn off the system, put it on and simultaneously press the power and volume down buttons. In the opened menu using a volume rocker select "Reset settings" and press the power button, similarly select and confirm "Yes". You can also update the firmware in the same menu.

The device is compatible with Android Debug Bridge, i.e. it can be debugged through a PC, you can improve resolution, increase the frequency of the processor, remove aberrations and throttling. A list of the most useful commands for ADB can be found on the 4PDA forum.

If there are few official games, then you can install the ALVR application for streaming Steam VR. On the application website, you need to generate the code and activate it in the Oculus application through the "Settings" — "Use the code". Then just download ALVR and check out the available games.
Useful information can be found on the Oculus Go support website. If you address the tech support, find the serial gadget numbers. On the glasses, a 14-digit number is on the left side in the lower left corner under the belt buckle. The controller also has a 14-digit number under the battery.

Reviews about Oculus Go

Buyers note the compactness, light weight and a high quality of the gadget. Even with a gap and foggy lenses Oculus Go is more convenient than other more massive counterparts. Quality sound, tracking and a variety of content are also among the advantages. However, the main complaints concern the screen and the image quality which clearly does not even reach 1080p.
For its price Oculus Go is still the best and the most affordable standalone VR device, without wires and with full autonomy. it is the best option in order to understand what the virtual reality is.

Oculus Go - Comparison

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