In addition to announcing a new standalone VR headset, Oculus Go, and a new Rift bundle aimed squarely at businesses, Oculus has also today announced new software improvements to the Oculus Rift experience in general. In fact, compared to run of the mill updates that often come through for platforms, Oculus states this is the company’s “biggest software update yet” and one which represents a “complete overhaul of Rift’s core experience.” Meet, Rift Core 2.0.
As part of the announcement, Oculus explains that the two biggest changes here refer to the introduction of Dash and a redesign of Home. The first, Dash is a new take on the general interface on offer with Oculus Rift. Compared to the previous interface Dash is now not only far more centralized, but also universally accessible from anywhere within the VR experience, as Dash essentially is a central hub which appears as an overlay to the main software. Resulting in Dash’s ability to be accessed anywhere within VR and without the need for additional clicks back and forth to navigate to other aspects. Oculus further explains that this new design will greatly improve multitasking in VR with some examples given as the ability to open the library from anywhere, the ability to easily switch between apps, and the option to connect with friends. As for Home, Oculus has now confirmed that with a new UI, comes a greater ability to customize the individual experience on offer with Rift. Which means users will now be able to fully customize their Home with the ability to place a wide range of objects (including artwork, furniture, and toys) anywhere. In addition to displaying content-related aspects (in-game achievements for example), and make use of new customized quick-launch app icons. Oculus goes on to note that these changes are only the beginning with Home with the company stating it will be rolling out more improvements in due course, including more social-focused features where users can engage and interact with others.
It is worth noting that although Oculus has announced these new UI updates and features today, Rift Core 2.0 is not quite ready for public consumption yet. Instead, a beta version of Rift Core 2.0 is due to become available “as a free update” at some point in December, 2017. In the meantime however, you can get a better idea of what is on offer with Dash and Home by checking out the two videos below.