Oculus Rift S — specification and verdict
The Rift S puts 1280x1440 per eye behind fresnel lenses at a fixed 80 Hz, which is enough for a machine label held at arm's length but not for a dense procedure card or small engraved text. Five Insight cameras handle 6DoF tracking without base stations, so a training room needs no wall-mounted sensors, only a Windows PC with a DisplayPort output and a free USB 3.0 port at every seat. There is no eye tracking and no controller-free hand tracking, so every interaction has to be built around the two Touch controllers, which run on AA cells. Passthrough is grayscale and exists for safety, not for reading text or blending real tools into the scene. The lenses sit at one fixed spacing and only the rendered image moves, so Oculus rated the headset for interpupillary distances of 61.5 to 65.5 mm and a trainee outside that band has nothing to adjust.
Rift S was withdrawn in 2021 and oculus.com/rift-s now redirects to Meta's Quest page, so a fleet can only be assembled second-hand and without warranty. Meta did sell Rift S in bulk with an enterprise licence at the time, but remote device management, provisioning and kiosk mode were reserved for Quest, so there is no MDM path and no way to pin a headset to one course. The tether is DisplayPort 1.2 plus USB 3.0, and Meta certified only the mini-DisplayPort adapter that came in the box, which rules out thin laptops with no DisplayPort output on the discrete GPU. In Poland and Germany there is no distribution channel left, so you are buying from resellers; the real cost per seat is the PC, not the 399 USD the headset launched at.
Do not specify a Rift S for training in 2026. It is a withdrawn PC-tethered headset with no fleet management, our standalone Android courses do not run on it at all, and each seat still needs a Windows PC with a discrete GPU. If a lab already owns a rack of them they remain usable for Windows PC VR software; for anything we deliver, a current standalone headset is the starting point.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — PC-tethered devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: $799, from 32 models that publish the figure.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Meta (Oculus)
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — PC-tethered
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- PC-powered VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2019-03-20
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2019
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued in 2021
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- Support ends: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- LCD
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Fresnel lenses
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 1280x1440
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 80 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- ≈88° horizontal*VRcompare
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- ≈14 PPD*VRcompare (peak)
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- ≈357 g*VRcompare
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- 88° horizontal · 88° vertical
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- 88° horizontal · 94° vertical · 101.95° diagonal
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- ≈Grayscale*VRcompare
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Software
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 61.5–65.5 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Yes
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Fits over glasses
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- Dimensions: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- ≈590 g*VRcompare
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Rigid halo strap
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · foam facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- inside-out 6DoF, 5 Oculus Insight cameras
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- 5
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- No
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- Yes
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Oculus Touch (second generation)
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 6DoF
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Capacitive (partial)
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- capacitive face buttons · capacitive joystick · capacitive thumb rest · capacitive index trigger · middle finger trigger
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Yes
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- AA batteries
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- 135 g
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from.
- Processor: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- CPUCores and clocks, where the manufacturer publishes them.
- CPU: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- GPUThe graphics part of the chip.
- GPU: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be.
- Memory: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- SD card slotWhether storage can be added with a card.
- SD card slot: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.
- Battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Battery capacity (Wh)Energy in the cell. Bigger is longer, given the same power draw.
- Battery capacity (Wh): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Battery capacity (mAh)The same fact in the other unit vendors use. We never convert between the two.
- Battery capacity (mAh): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Charge timeFrom empty to full. Rarely stated by the manufacturer, so it usually comes from whoever timed it.
- Charge time: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- ChargerPower of the supplied charger — it decides the charge time above.
- Charger: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- External batteryBattery on a cable or a puck instead of on the head.
- External battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Charging caseExtra runtime carried in the case the glasses ship with.
- Charging case: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Hot-swap batteryWhether a charged battery can replace the empty one without ending the session. This is what decides if a headset can hold an all-day training station.
- Hot-swap battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Swappable facial interface: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- DisplayPort 1.2 · USB 3.0 · headphone jack
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers · Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Mid range
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $399
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
Who this device is for
This is a headset for people who already own one: simulator rooms, labs and universities that bought Rift S units before 2021 and still run Windows PC VR software on them. Anyone specifying new hardware for safety training or onboarding is not the audience, because there is no supply, no management layer and no on-board Android runtime.
How it differs from its predecessor
The Rift S and the Quest 1 launched together in May 2019 as Meta's first inside-out headsets, and the road then split: the standalone branch continued into Quest 3, the tethered one ended in 2021 with no successor. Against the HP Reverb G2 the Rift S is the lower-resolution, 80 Hz option, and both are equally incompatible with our courses because both need a PC. If you are choosing today, neither is the answer.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Oculus never published a field of view for the Rift S, only the comparison that it is slightly larger than the original Rift, and it published no weight and no pixel density either. The 88 degrees, the 357 g headset and 590 g with-strap figures and the 14 pixels per degree in this record all come from VRcompare, not from Meta. Meta also gives no end-of-support date for the Rift platform, so that field stays empty rather than guessed, and it never explained how far the software IPD slider can usefully depart from the fixed lens spacing.
Oculus Rift S — frequently asked questions
- Can you still buy an Oculus Rift S, and does it still work after the 2021 withdrawal?
- Meta stopped selling it in 2021 and oculus.com/rift-s now redirects to the Quest page, so new units are gone. Used ones still work as PC VR headsets: Meta's developer documentation still lists the Rift S with its 80 Hz panel and its DisplayPort 1.2 connection. What you do not get is a warranty, a supply of spares, or a stated date on which support ends.
- What IPD does the Oculus Rift S support, and can the lenses be moved?
- They cannot be moved. The Rift S has one fixed lens spacing and only a software IPD setting in the Oculus PC app, which shifts the rendered image instead of the optics, and Oculus rated the headset for interpupillary distances between 61.5 and 65.5 mm. For a headset shared across a shift that is the weak point of the design, because a trainee outside that band gets a soft image and no accessory fixes it.
- Do Skillsive VR training courses run on an Oculus Rift S?
- No. Our courses are standalone Android VR builds and the Rift S has no computer on board at all: it is driven over DisplayPort 1.2 and USB 3.0 by a Windows PC. The Rift platform also has no MDM and no kiosk mode, so even a PC-side build would leave you with no way to manage a fleet. Use a standalone headset instead.
Compare this device
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Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. Manufacturer's specification
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