Yesterday, a report from Bloomberg revealed that Oculus is planning to release a $200 wireless standalone VR headset. Today, we have additional details on Oculus' overall VR hardware plans.

Ars Technica has confirmed that Oculus is exploring multiple different options in a "spectrum" of standalone devices for the future. That includes continued investment in standalone headsets that have "six degree of freedom" full motion tracking akin to the Santa Cruz prototype shown at last year's Oculus Connect conference. Oculus will not release any hardware before the end of 2017, though.

Oculus doesn't see its wireless standalone headset plans as a replacement for the existing Rift, however. Instead, the company sees PC-connected Rift headsets and mobile phone-powered holsters like Gear VR as completely separate categories that will operate parallel to any standalone VR hardware. Oculus hopes people who purchase the Rift today will still be able to enjoy it for years without regret.

A big part of Oculus' standalone headset plans is an effort to get a product at a more mass-market-friendly price. Oculus feels that lowering the entry-level price point for VR will be a big driver of mainstream adoption for virtual reality. Recently, the company temporarily lowered the price of its Rift headset with Oculus Touch controllers to $399, and Ars has learned the company already believes the sale is going well.

In an official statement in response to the Bloomberg report yesterday, an Oculus spokesperson said, "We don't have a product to unveil at this time, however we can confirm that we're making several significant technology investments in the standalone VR category. This is in addition to our commitment to high-end VR products like Oculus Rift and mobile phone products like Gear VR."

Tacking to the center

The new information cements the impression that Oculus sees a new line of standalone headsets as a more viable middle ground for virtual reality, sitting between low-end phone holsters like the Samsung Gear VR and pricier high-end headsets like the Rift. The ability to get "all in" on convincing virtual reality for a reported $200, without the need for a specific smartphone or powerful PC, could do a lot to help get VR over its current niche, early-adopter hump and into the mainstream. Still, a lot will depend on the form factor and software lineup for any such device.

Any standalone device that implements full 6DOF tracking probably won't be at the low end of the "spectrum" of options Oculus is reportedly looking at, though. At Oculus Connect last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that getting full "inside-out" tracking that works in a completely wireless headset is "one of the toughest problems in computer science... We have a demo, but we don't have a product yet. This is the kind of thing we believe will exist... a completely new category of virtual reality product."

"We want hardware that's lighter form factor," Zuckerberg added during that conference keynote. "That's smaller, that can do both VR and AR, that can do eye tracking, hand tracking."

Oculus isn't alone in pursuing the standalone VR middle ground. Google announced in May that it was working on its own "reference design" for a standalone virtual reality headset, complete with a new camera system that allows for full positional tracking and even augmented reality mapping of complex spaces. HTC and Lenovo were announced as partners to create consumer versions of that design.

Samsung is also reportedly working on its own standalone VR headset, according to recent leaks from third-party developers.