Oculus Quest 2 review: The Oculus Quest 2 is a great VR headset for beginners and pros. We’d say it’s a must-have item if you want a top-tier VR system without the cords, money, or hassle of a PC-based setup, like the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift S. Now that the Meta Quest Pro is out, we may see reductions on the cheaper VR headset.
Although Oculus Quest 2 isn’t perfect, it’s as close as virtual reality has come so far and is worth your time, money, and attention.
Oculus Quest 2 Price
There are now two storage options available for the Oculus Quest 2: 128GB for $400/£400/AU$630 and 256GB for $500/£500/AU$790.
While cheaper than the original Oculus Quest, it’s more pricey than the Quest 2. Before Meta raised prices (because to inflation and manufacturing expenses), the 128GB model cost £299 and the 256GB model cost £399.
With the extra pricing of Oculus Quest 2, you’ll receive Beat Saber for free. Buy a new Quest 2 before 2022 to receive it for free.
Design of Oculus Quest 2
Oculus Quest 2 review: You put on Oculus Quest 2 like a diving mask. Where a dive mask’s window would be, there’s a cushioned chamber with goggle-like lenses in front of a screen, giving you 3D views. With motion sensors and accelerometers in the headset, you can move your head and see the movements mirrored in real-time on the digital screen in front of you.
It’s a lightweight design similar to the original Oculus Quest (now in white plastic instead of a dust-hugging, fabric-covered black), with external cameras that monitor your location and that of the provided controllers.
Using Oculus Quest 2
Setting up a VR headset involves plugging in cables and arranging external sensors. Because the Oculus Quest 2 headgear does all the computation and motion tracking, getting started takes about 5-10 minutes.
After the initial charge, you’ll switch on the headset and see a few safety films and a brief intro movie on the controllers’ point-and-trigger method. The Oculus Quest’s first “wow” experience is setting up a “Guardian.”
Using the headset’s external cameras, you’ll get a real-time grayscale perspective of your surroundings. You’ll use the controllers like a spray paint can to indicate the headset where you can move without hitting your TV or couch.
Room-scale experiences are more immersive than stationary or sitting ones. Oculus recommends a 6.5-by-6.5-foot area for room-scale games, although you may get by with less. The Guardian wall, a grid-like digital wall, is revealed after the borders are set. If you poke your head through the digital wall, you’ll view your real-world surroundings. Ingenious safety feature.
Oculus Quest 2 PC Tethering
Oculus Quest 2 review: The Oculus Quest 2 kills tethered, PC-only headsets like the Rift and Rift S. TechRadar has verified that, moving ahead, their headsets will support mobile and PC tethered play.
If you have a powerful gaming PC, you may utilise the Oculus Quest 2 to enjoy tethered virtual reality. Plug a USB 3.0 connection into your headset, install the PC-based Oculus launcher and store, and download programmes.
Quest 2’s Air Link function allows for wireless PC VR.
Whichever option you select, it will greatly boost the titles accessible to Oculus Quest 2 gamers with the right PC hardware. PC-based experiences may be more detailed and ambitious than mobile ones due to their GPU capabilities.
With a PC, the Quest may take benefit of remarkable experiences like Asgard’s Wrath and Lone Echo 2. These are high-end VR experiences with graphics quality years ahead of Quest 2’s smartphone games. You can acquire the Quest 2 to play VR programmes from other retailers, such Steam VR’s Half Life: Alyx.
Facebook’s choice to provide both play situations via one headset line reduces the hardware it supports. As mobile VR becomes Oculus’ default (not everyone has a gaming PC), we hope it doesn’t dampen developers’ aspirations. We don’t want applications to concentrate primarily on mobile headsets and ignore PC experiences.
Purchase it if..
- You want an accessible, wire-free VR experience: Self-contained and simple to use, Oculus Quest 2 offers the greatest VR gameplay and experiences in a device even a tech beginner can enjoy.
- You have a VR-ready gaming PC: Plugging a cable into the Quest gives you access to tethered PC VR experiences.
- You have a big play space to enjoy: Oculus Quest 2’s Guardian room tracker may be used for sitting, standing, or free-roaming experiences. Quest 2 works ideal in a big (interior) location without barriers to disrupt the sense of a digital world.
Don’t purchase it If…
- You don’t want to be tied to Facebook: Oculus’s new User Agreement requires a Facebook account to utilise Quest 2. If you don’t like Facebook’s data tracking, you’re out of luck.
- You’re easily nauseated: Virtual reality encounters may make some people queasy. This impact may be minimised by avoiding playing racing or flying games, but it’s not a concern with other platforms and media.
- You’ve already got the original Oculus Quest: If you possess the original Quest, you shouldn’t feel left behind by the new model.
