Oculus Rift S PC-Powered VR Gaming Headset

I do own a CV1 Rift; and I still like it; although the main problem for me was the sensors. Few years ago, there was no escape, either if you pick a vive or a rift; but now there is an option.Granted, this is not a revolution from the previous rift; in some ways it has "lower" specs; but don't get that fool you. Technology is going forward, as such; you get better products with more optimizations, that are actually going "slower". Look at your 16 cores i9 and compare it to a single core CPU from years ago: it goes slower but can do hundreds of things faster, if the code is optimized.So don't get fooled by the number-lovers that tell you that more is better. Refresh rate is at 80Hz; this may be OK for you or not, can't say since most of the people can't tell the difference, but some are more sensitive to the variations in refresh rate, and those are usually more prone to get motion sickness. Give it a try first; but chances are that you won't be able to tell the difference between the 90Hz of the original rift, 80Hz of the S and the 100+Hz in the new Valve Index.The screen is new, it is just one screen, but the resolution is higher. To me it looks much better than the 2 separate screens of the rift; and everything looks crisp and defined, with the new lenses (both the screen and lenses are the same as the oculus Go)The big thing is inside-out tracking: forget about setting up lighthouses or sensors; you can plug in the device and off you go. 99% of the time I felt no problems with the games I play; both for room scale or sitting experiences. Some issues are manifesting if you occlude the controllers or the cameras, so if you put your controller behind you or below a table; but that is the same if you would use a sensor setup. As far as performances, not that much difference between the rift and the new S model. It just looks better and feel more precise. If you move around a lot, and don't want to re-calibrate the sensors every time, that alone is worth the upgrade. I am in this category.Bear in mind, you still have the cable, but can't do that without. The rift S is a tethered device; you can get a quest for the same price; but you get a watered down experience with the quest, but wireless. The quest is fundamentally a phone chip inside the headset, so while powerful, you have to strap a battery pack on yourself, because you get only few hours of battery life out of the quest; and the graphics is nowhere near the games you can play on the Rift S; because they are mobile games. Some look great, but that is because they were ported to the Quest; with the intention to show the max capabilities of the device. If you have a large PC game library, forget about the Quest, unless you want to stream on it (but you can do the same with the Go at that point, since you won't use the 6 DOF that the Quest support).So in the end, if you have no Rift, the S is a great upgrade. If you have a rift, it may not be a step forward, but more of an improvement. Imagine yourself buying every year the new Samsung or iPhone device; this is exactly the same thing. New device, iterative design, similar price.So pick and choose if the pros and cons are in your range of what you consider important, and decide if you want this device or not.

I was apprehensive about upgrading from my Rift CV1 to a Rift S. I had my Rift CV1 for over two years. Mostly, I wanted to be free of all of the external sensors so that I could more easily travel with my gaming PC and VR system. I am 110% satisfied with the inside-out tracking system, which was my biggest concern with upgrading. In fact, being an avid Beat Saber player (no, that's not ALL I play in VR.. lol) I found my scores actually going up due to the increased tracking precision. So far I have not had a single drop out and am amazed at the tracking volume that the Rift S has now that it's been on the market for a few months (and the bugs have been ironed out).The display resolution increase is immediately noticeable and there is almost no screen-door-effect or ghosting (god rays). Colors are more bold and vibrant due to the RGB pixel arrangement as compared to the pentile arrangement of the Rift CV1. Everything is much sharper overall.It took a day or two for me to get used to the new head strap design, but it is a lot more comfortable in my opinion than the "baseball cap" design of the Rift / Quest and doesn't require as much adjustment.Set up was INCREDIBLY easy compared to the original Rift. Plug in the displayport cable and a single USB 3.0 cable and the Oculus software guides you through the rest. I set up a guardian in my office (my primary VR playspace) and used it for a day or so. I took my gaming rig and Rift S to a buddy's house and set up a guardian in his office and everything worked perfectly. To my surprise, when I returned home and reconnected everything, the Rift S remembered my room and the guardian was already perfectly lined up (I thought multiple guardian support was a Quest-only feature).My only complaint, just like everyone else's, is that the built-in audio leaves a lot to be desired. It sounds good enough for nearly every game and experience, but for rhythm games such as Beat Saber it just doesn't provide enough bass, presence, or volume. Thankfully this was easily solved by using my in-ear headphones since the Rift S features a headphone jack. Also, there is a very convenient (and affordable) on-ear headphone kit for PSVR that is also compatible with Rift S (and sold on Amazon) that I plan on grabbing which will put that issue to rest. I don't regret the upgrade from Rift CV1 to Rift S at all, and am now even more excited for the launch of the AAA games coming this fall / winter (Stormland & Asgard's Wrath) as they'll look incredible the with the improved visuals.