X

Xiaomi VR headset for China could help nail Facebook's goal

The Facebook-owned Oculus teased the device, to be made in partnership with China's Xiaomi, at CES 2018.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
Jessica Dolcourt
2 min read
Claudia Cruz/CNET

Facebook will try to "get a billion people in virtual reality," by appealing to a company in the world's most populated country: China.

hugo-barra-oculus-vr-virtual-reality-7822

Oculus' VP of VR, Hugo Barra, at an Oculus event in 2017. 

James Martin/CNET

In the middle of a Qualcomm press conference where tech jargon flew at a rat-a-tat rate, up jumped a familiar face in the tech world to announce the surprise: Facebook VR brand Oculus will partner with up-and-coming devicemaker Xiaomi to build a standalone VR headset for China.

The face in question belongs to Hugo Barra, Oculus' VP of VR, himself a former Xiaomi executive who brought the brand some recognition by leaving his executive position within Google's Android team.

The Xiaomi Mi VR stand-alone headset will be built exclusively for China, using a Qualcomm chip and Oculus' mobile software bundle for developers. 

Xiaomi's Vice President of the Mi ecosystem, Thomas Tang, also known as Mu Tang (pictured above), teased the product.

Xiaomi, a Chinese company that brands everything from inexpensive rice cookers and air purifiers to high-end smartphones like the Mi Mix 2, will leverage its brand recognition in its homeland to help spread Oculus' platform, as well as Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 processor, a chipset most often found in smartphones.

The Mi VR headset is a rebranded Oculus Go VR headset -- a $200 gadget that doesn't require a phone or PC to use -- for the China market. 

"Mi VR Standalone shares the same core hardware as Oculus Go," Oculus said in a press release.

Mi VR headset details

  • 2K LCD screen
  • Spatial audio tech from Oculus
  • 360-degree videos and games through the Mi VR Store

Xiaomi didn't have anything to show off, but we're promised more details about the Xi VR headset "soon" -- perhaps at the Mobile World Congress show next month?

PC preview: What to expect from laptops, desktops and tablets at CES this year.

CES 2018: CNET's complete coverage of tech's biggest show.