2018 is looking set to become the year in which mobile virtual reality (VR) matures. Oculus Go is coming soon alongside Oculus VR’s recently revealed Xiaomi partnership for the Mi VR, and of course the Vive Focus is heading to China imminently. New to the block are iQIYI, revealing their own take on the new paradigm, the QIYU-II, at CES 2018, Las Vegas.
Founded in 2010, iQIYI is China’s largest internet and mobile video service provider. Since its launch, iQIYI has become recognised as an industry leader when it comes to delivering high-definition (HD) online video content to Chinese users, and is now looking to diversify its portfolio. The QIYU-II is key to that expansion.
The QIYU-II is on display at CES 2018, presented with the first videogame designed specifically for the platform: Planet Dinosaur. The QIYU-II features a 4K display, and Planet Dinosaur uses that to immersive the player in a Jurassic world. You can feed ferocious velociraptors by cranking the handle, and get a full 360 degree view of the dinosaur museum thanks to the QIYU-II’s built-in inside-out tracking system. Players can freely roam around in the dinosaur museum and observe every detail of dinosaur specimens.
Given iQIYI’s video background, it is of course to be expected that video playback will remain as large part of the company’s VR strategy. The QIYU-II supports 4320p, 7680 x 4320 video content, delivering a high quality viewing experience on the 4K LCD screen. Demonstrations of the video content are be available alongside Planet Dinosaur at CES 2018.
iQIYI currently operates largely in content distribution, and has built up a diversified business model that includes services such as online reading, manga, gaming, live streaming, movie ticketing, and e-commerce. VR is set to be the next step for the company as the QIYU-II head-mounted display (HMD) approaches the consumer market.
No details are currently available regarding the release date or price point of the QIYU-II HMD, nor any further technical specifications aside from those mentioned above. VRFocus is currently at CES 2018, and will continue to keep you updated with all the latest news directly from the show floor.