Qualcomm held its pre-CES 2018 press conference today and as part of the event brought virtual reality (VR) company Oculus on stage for a very special announcement. Oculus has revealed that its been working with Chinese tech company Xiaomi to create a specific standalone head-mounted display (HMD) for the Chinese market called Mi VR.
Making the announcement was Oculus VP of VR Hugo Barra, revealing that Mi VR is based on Oculus’ own upcoming virtual reality (VR) headset the Oculus Go. Mi VR standalone shares the same core hardware features and design as Oculus Go and supports the Oculus Mobile SDK, enabling existing Oculus developers to easily bring their content to the Mi VR platform in China.
Xiaomi is working directly with Oculus developers to localize some of the most popular content from the Oculus Store and to bring it to the Mi VR Store in China.
In collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, both headsets use the Snapdragon Mobile VR Platform to address VR processing demands. The partnership between Oculus and Xiaomi isn’t just about the Mi VR headset, Xiaomi is Oculus’ hardware partner for launching Oculus Go globally.
Tang Mu, VP of Mi Ecosystem and head of Mi Lab, said in a statement: “We are excited to work with Oculus on these standalone devices that exceed expectations in terms of performance at a very attractive price. Xiaomi has always relentlessly pursued the best user experience and price-to-performance ratio. For the best experience, we consider every minute detail. Through our collaboration with Oculus, we have integrated world-class technologies and craftsmanship to produce a VR standalone that lets people immerse themselves in another world without being connected to smartphones or computers.”
No price has yet been revealed for the Mi VR but with Oculus Go priced from $199, Chinese consumers will likely pay a similar cost. As further details emerge VRFocus will keep you updated.