Oculus VR has unveiled its new prototype called Crescent Bay

Oculus VR has been showing off a brand new prototype of its virtual reality headset as a full commercial release draws ever closer. Called Crescent Bay, the latest edition of the hardware brings with it a faster frame rate, 360-degree head tracking and an integrated audio system. It’s also lighter than its predecessor. The news comes from the Oculus Connect conference, the first developer event that the Facebook-owned company has held. According to the official blog post, nearly 1,000 developers are in attendance, and the unveiling of the Crescent Bay prototype is one of the biggest announcements to come out of the event. Connect attendees can get hold of a prototype straight away but general pricing and availability haven’t been confirmed as of yet.

Oculus gave the world the first look at its new prototype Crescent Bay today at the Oculus’ Connect conference (livestream), and I got the very first hands-on demo. Crescent Bay has a faster frame rate, 360-degree head tracking, and integrated headphones, plus it’s lighter. Oculus also announced the new Oculus Platform coming to the Samsung VR, which brings VR to a large audience through mobile apps, web browsers, and a VR content discovery channel. You can read our full story on Oculus Platform here. CEO Brendan Iribe called Crescent Bay as big of a step up from the DK2 as the DK2 was from the DK1. This still isn’t a consumer version, but it’s getting closer. The Crescent Bay is not an official developer kit, but instead a “feature prototype” designed to show off the future of what Oculus is doing, similar to the pre-DK2 “Crystal Cove” prototype. The Crescent Bay likely won’t ship out to developers but will prepare them for what Oculus puts into the “DK3″ or whatever it calls its next developer kit, which VR makers will be able to buy and tinker with. Thanks to the 360-degree head tracking powered by a camera on the back of the Crescent Bay, users will be be able spin around all the way so they don’t feel constricted, while previous Oculus headsets could tell if you facing all the way backwards. The expanded positional tracking volume and integrated high-quality headphones will make the sound of Oculus as immersive as the visuals. Oculus licensed RealSpace3D’s audio technology built at the University of Maryland. RealSpace3D allows for high-fidelity VR audio by combining “HRTF spatialization and integrated reverberation algorithms.”