At the end of April 2019, Oculus announced that they would be soon launching a new software for their Oculus headsets. This software and new operating system would be aimed to help companies with large-scale with headset management and commercial use-cases. This new software would give the hardware new warrantee and specialized support. The new Oculus Business initiative was supposed to launch back in the fall of 2019, but we have yet to see anything other than delays.
If you are a company looking to get a headset or a batch of headsets relatively soon, you’ll need to look elsewhere for the time being. Oculus is hoping to offer the Oculus Quest, new enterprise-focused software, licenses, and support for $1,000. They have yet to make it available for purchase, so head to Vive or Varjo for some high-end business use headsets.
The official Oculus website says that the Oculus Business is ready to be consumed, but when you are looking to buy the package, you will be greeted by a friendly “Available Soon” headline. It has been this way since the fall of 2019, with no end in sight. If you are a company already owning a Oculus Quest with the idea of integrating it for business, we have some news for you.
RoadToVR reached out to Oculus for a statement and to understand what the word ‘soon’ means to the company. This is what they said when asked about the impending availability of the Oculus Business features.
“We recently completed beta with a closed group of customers and ISVs, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. This month we’re continuing a gradual rollout to additional customers in the order with which they purchased and as hardware becomes available,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “Oculus Quest is currently backordered, and we’re working hard to replenish stock. We plan to continue with release to everyone, including new customers, soon.”
So does this mean the software is ready but the Quest isn’t? Not necessarily. If this were the case, wed likely see the Rift S and the Go have some capabilities, but we don’t. What we do see though is the software being completely reliant on the restock of the Oculus Quest.
Oculus said at one point they wanted to include the Oculus Go, but due to the feedback from the pilot companies, they scrapped that idea completely.
If Oculus is wanting to compete with Vive, they’re going to need to change up their ideology with the business side. Vive has business software available to all VR headsets they have, regardless of their connectivity or their power. All standalone and PC headsets from Vive can be considered VR business-focused VR headsets. Oculus needs to take some notes. For more VR news and community updates, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
