In June 2015, Oculus VR co-founder Palmer Luckey revealed that Oculus was already working on a successor to the original Rift and planned to release it in around 2–3 years from the original Rift release. The headset would feature higher resolution screen and inside-out tracking and would enable room scale experiences. In October 2018, Oculus VR co-founder and former CEO until 2016 Brendan Iribe left Oculus VR, allegedly due to both parts having "fundamentally different views on the future of Oculus that grew deeper over time." Iribe wanted to deliver comfortable VR experience competitive on the high-end market while Oculus leadership aimed to lower the VR gaming entry barrier. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Oculus parent companyFacebook Inc., repeatedly stated that Oculus goal is to bring a billion users into VR. Iribe was said to be overseeing the development of the second generation Oculus Rift, which was canceled the week prior to his departure. Oculus Rift S was announced during GDC 2019 on March 20, with shipments starting on May 21 the same year.
Hardware
Display
Rift S uses a single fast-switch LCD panel with a resolution of 2560×1440 with refresh rate 80 Hz, down from the CV1's 90 Hz. Compared to the original Rift, the screen in the Rift S is expected to deliver higher detail image with reduced screen-door effect. Also, compared to the original Rift, the Rift S uses "next generation" lens technology, introduced in Oculus Go, which almost entirely eliminates god rays. The field of view is 115º, compared to 110º on the Rift CV1. The headset features software-only inter pupillary distance adjustment, because it uses a single screen.
Audio
The Rift S does away with the headphones found in the Rift CV1. Instead, there's a pair of speakers integrated into the headband, two inches above the user's ears. This change in the device's audio output has been described as one of the biggest downgrades of the Rift S compared to the CV1, in terms of quality and directionality. That said, the device includes a 3.5 mm minijack, which gives the user the option to use their own headphones.
Oculus Insight
Unlike the original Rift, in which the headset was tracked externally via the Constellation system, the headset in the Rift S uses an inside-out tracking system, called Oculus Insight, the same found in the stand-alone headset Oculus Quest. The system uses a combination of five cameras built into the headset, information from the accelerometers in the HMD and controllers, and the use of AI to predict what path the controllers will most likely be taking when outside the cameras' field of view. The Constellation system is still used to track the controllers using the headset's cameras. The cameras are also used by a feature called Passthrough+, in which the device passes through the video from the built-in cameras onto the display, so that the user can navigate the real world without removing the headset. Passthrough+ also makes use of "Asynchronous SpaceWarp" to produce a comfortable experience with minimal depth disparity or performance impact.
Halo headband
Rift S features a halo headband which, according to Oculus, has a better weight distribution, better light blocking, and will be more comfortable overall. The headset was co-developed with Lenovo, incorporating their experience in the VR and AR space and feedback from the Lenovo Legion gaming community. The device has a knob at the rear of the band which brings the device forward and backward. The top strap is there to make it snug on the wearer's head, while a button underneath the right side of the headset is used to release the headset from its support, allowing it to be adjusted to be closer or farther from the user's eyes. The device lacks physical adjustment for inter-pupillary distance, but this setting is supported in software, according to Oculus.
Controllers
Oculus Rift S uses the same second generation Oculus Touch controllers used in the Oculus Quest. The controllers are similar to the ones used by the original Oculus Rift, except with the tracking ring on the top instead of being on the bottom.
Software
Software compatibility and Cross-play
Oculus announced intention to support every existing and future game on the Rift platform for the Rift S and the original Rift. Furthermore, a game purchased for one device can later be played on another. Multiplayer games that support both platforms will let players play with one another regardless of their devices.
Passthrough+
Oculus Passthrough is a feature of Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest which allows user to see the real world via the built-in cameras. This is used during the initial setup process for defining the Guardian tool and the level of the floor. During the setup process, the surrounding is displayed as a black and white representation.
Reception
Upon announcement, Rift S received mixed reviews. Wired magazine described the device as a "giant half-step" that brings Oculus closer to the modern "virtual realities" yet stops short of the competition. The device was also criticized by Palmer Luckey, a co-founder of Oculus VR and a co-creator of the original Rift, who said that he can not use the Oculus Rift S comfortably because the device does not accommodate his 70mm IPD. Based on IPD data published in the Proceedings of SPIE journal, Luckey estimates that the Rift S IPD will only be suitable for around 70% of the population. In comparison, the original Rift was designed to support any IPD between the 5th and 95th percentile, making the device comfortable for 90% of the population. Luckey noted that not all aspects of the IPD adjustment can be achieved via software and software-only adjustment is not comparable in any way to an actual physical IPD adjustment mechanism.
Hidden messages in Touch Controllers
On April 12, 2019, Nate Mitchell, co-founder of Oculus VR and head of VR product at Facebook, explained via Twitter that "some 'easter egg' labels meant for prototypes accidentally made it onto the internal hardware for tens of thousands of Touch controllers." The messages on final production hardware say 'This Space For Rent' and 'The Masons Were Here,' while a few development kits contained 'Big Brother is Watching' and 'Hi iFixit! We See You!'
