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Oculus Rift S vs Valve Index
Both devices below are described from their manufacturers’ own specification pages. Where a row does not apply to one of them, it says so rather than showing a dash — that is a different statement from “the maker does not publish it”.
Meta (Oculus) · Mid range
Differences you can see
Pictures first, table second. Every chart is computed from the same published fields you can read below it — nothing here is an illustration.
- Oculus Rift S
- Valve Index
Resolution per eye
Panels at true pixel scale, one inside the other.
The sharpest panel here has 25% more pixels per eye than the softest — that is what you gain on small text inside a scene.
Field of view
Seen from above. The grey area is roughly the human binocular field (~200°).
- Valve Index108° horizontal
- Oculus Rift S88° horizontal
The widest field here is 108°, the narrowest 88°. A pair of human eyes covers about 200° — even the best of these shows less than two thirds of that.
Launch price
On the whole catalogue’s scale, from $199 to $3499; a handful of outliers, up to $38500, sit beyond it.
Oculus Rift S$399
Valve Index$999
$199$3499
IPD range
Against the 54–74 mm range most adults fall into.
Oculus Rift S61.5–65.5 mm
Valve Index58–70 mm
52 mm76 mm
The grey band is people, not hardware. Where a coloured bar stops short of it, that share of a team cannot set the headset to their eyes — and a badly set distance is the usual cause of headaches after twenty minutes.
On sale, and supported
Two different questions: how long you can still buy it new, and how long the manufacturer keeps updating it. The dashed line is the end of a three-year training programme (2029).
Oculus Rift S sold 2019–2021 · no published end of support
Valve Index on sale since 2019 · no published end of support
20182030
Sold and supported are not the same thing. A model can leave the shelves while its maker keeps shipping software to the units you already own — and it can stay on the shelves with no published support commitment at all.
What actually differs
Computed from the two records, most decisive first.
Price band
- Oculus Rift S
- Mid range
- Valve Index
- Premium
Launch price
- Oculus Rift S
- $399
- Valve Index
- $999
Resolution per eye
- Oculus Rift S
- 1280x1440
- Valve Index
- 1440x1600
Pixel density
- Oculus Rift S
- 14 PPD
- Valve Index
- —
Field of view
- Oculus Rift S
- 88° horizontal
- Valve Index
- 108° horizontal
Refresh rate
- Oculus Rift S
- 80 Hz
- Valve Index
- 80/90/120/144 Hz
Weight
- Oculus Rift S
- 357 g
- Valve Index
- —
Availability
- Oculus Rift S
- Discontinued in 2021
- Valve Index
- On sale
Manufacturer
- Oculus Rift S
- Meta (Oculus)
- Valve Index
- Valve
Announced
- Oculus Rift S
- 2019-03-20
- Valve Index
- 2019-04-30
Swappable facial interface
- Oculus Rift S
- —
- Valve Index
- No
Optics
- Oculus Rift S
- Fresnel lenses
- Valve Index
- Canted dual-element
They match on 21 further specifications.
Full specification, row by row
40 of 76 rows differ.
| Specification | Oculus Rift S Meta (Oculus) | Valve Index Valve |
|---|---|---|
| ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from. | Meta (Oculus) | Valve |
| CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all. | VR — PC-tethered | VR — PC-tethered |
| Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it. | PC-powered VR | PC-powered VR |
| AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped. | 2019-03-20 | 2019-04-30 |
| ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category. | 2019 | 2019 |
| AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today. | Discontinued in 2021 | On sale |
| Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy. | Support ends: not published by the manufacturer | Support ends: not published by the manufacturer |
| PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper. | LCD | 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 | Canted dual-element |
| Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue. | Both eyes | Both eyes |
| Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable. | 1280x1440 | ≈1440x1600*VRcompare |
| Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort. | 80 Hz | 80/90/120/144 Hz |
| Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work. | ≈88° horizontal*VRcompare estimate | ≈108° 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) | Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer |
| BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does. | Brightness: not published by the manufacturer | Brightness: not published by the manufacturer |
| WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour. | ≈357 g*VRcompare | Weight: not published by the manufacturer |
| Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis. | 88° horizontal · 88° vertical | 108° horizontal · 104° vertical |
| Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see. | 88° horizontal · 94° vertical · 101.95° diagonal | 108.06° horizontal · 109.16° vertical · 114.43° diagonal |
| Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens. | Binocular overlap: not published by the manufacturer | 85.93° |
| Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper. | Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer | 13.3 PPD horizontal · 15.4 PPD vertical (computed) |
| Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens. | Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer | Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer |
| Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile. | RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel | RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel |
| Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance. | Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer | Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer |
| PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing. | ≈Grayscale*VRcompare | None |
| Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed. | Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer | Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer |
| IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people. | Software | Manual |
| 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 | 58–70 mm |
| Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts. | Yes | Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer |
| Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range. | Fits over glasses | Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer |
| DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself. | Dimensions: not published by the manufacturer | Dimensions: not published by the manufacturer |
| Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear. | ≈590 g*VRcompare | ≈809 g*VRcompare |
| Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour. | Rigid halo strap | Rigid strap with a dial |
| MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words. | plastic · foam facial interface | Plastic · foam facial interface |
| ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in. | Black | Black |
| Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers. | No | No |
| TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed. | inside-out 6DoF, 5 Oculus Insight cameras | outside-in 6DoF (SteamVR base stations) |
| Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works. | Not needed | Required |
| Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is. | 5 | Tracking cameras: not published by the manufacturer |
| Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier. | Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer | Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer |
| Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras. | No | Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer |
| Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone. | No | No |
| Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics. | No | No |
| Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios. | No | No |
| Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs. | None | None |
| Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only. | Yes | Yes |
| Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller. | Oculus Touch (second generation) | Index Controller |
| Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only. | 6DoF | 6DoF |
| Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say. | Headset cameras | Base stations (Lighthouse) |
| Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with. | Other controllers from the same maker — the identical Touch controllers sold for Oculus Quest (first generation) | Any SteamVR (Lighthouse) controller — HTC Vive controller · Vive Pro controller |
| Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how. | Capacitive (partial) | Full |
| Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers. | capacitive face buttons · capacitive joystick · capacitive thumb rest · capacitive index trigger · middle finger trigger | Capacitive thumbstick · trackpad · capacitive face buttons · capacitive index trigger · pressure sensitive grip |
| Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand. | Yes | Yes |
| Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question. | AA batteries | Built-in rechargeable |
| Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it. | 135 g | 196 g |
| Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands. | Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer | Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer |
| Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today. | No | No |
| Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management. | No | No |
| Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices. | No | No |
| Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts. | No | No |
| Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints. | Swappable facial interface: not published by the manufacturer | No |
| CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine". | Certifications: not published by the manufacturer | Certifications: not published by the manufacturer |
| PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts. | DisplayPort 1.2 · USB 3.0 · headphone jack | Front USB port |
| Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up. | Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer | Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer |
| BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories. | Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer | Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer |
| Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly. | Over a cable (DisplayPort 1.2, USB 3.0) | Over a cable |
| AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working. | Built-in speakers · Headphone jack | Built-in speakers · Headphone jack |
| MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert. | Yes | Yes |
| MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not. | Microphones: not published by the manufacturer | 2 |
| Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale. | Mid range | Premium |
| Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale. | $399 | $999 |
| Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch. | Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer | Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer |
| 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: not published by the manufacturer | $999 |
| Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing. | Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer | Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
| Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers. | Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer | Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
| Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers. | Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer | 5 / 5Both credit the base stations rather than the headset, and neither reports jitter, drift or dropouts. MIXED calls it the most accurate on the market and notes it holds the controllers above the head and behind the back alike — the coverage you buy by mounting hardware on the walls.Road to VR review,MIXED review |
| 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): not published by the manufacturer | Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
“—” means the manufacturer does not publish that figure. “≈” with an asterisk means it was measured by somebody else — follow the asterisk for who. Prices are an indicative net figure in USD, a snapshot from the date on each model page, not an offer.
Product and company names used here are the trademarks of their respective owners and appear only to identify the hardware being compared. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these manufacturers. Illustrations are our own.