Oculus Quest 2 review
Our Verdict
The Oculus Quest two's toll, game library and overall ease of use brand it the all-time entry point into virtual reality however.
For
- Sleek, comfy blueprint
- Impressive game library
- Intuitive controllers
- Skillful price
- Strong born audio
Confronting
- Controllers aren't rechargeable
- Link cable required for PC games
- Requires Facebook account
Tom'south Guide Verdict
The Oculus Quest 2's toll, game library and overall ease of use make it the best entry point into virtual reality yet.
Pros
- +
Sleek, comfortable blueprint
- +
Impressive game library
- +
Intuitive controllers
- +
Good price
- +
Strong built-in sound
- +
Cons
- -
Controllers aren't rechargeable
- -
Link cable required for PC games
- -
Requires Facebook account
- -
The Oculus Quest 2, now officially titled Meta Quest, is the virtual reality headset you're after if you're looking to play games and enjoy other immersive experiences in VR without being tethered to a PC or having to dock your phone.
Y'all can popular on this VR headset and boxing your mode through Resident Evil four VR. Or check out the best way to play Microsoft Flight Simulator. And as it'south a standalone headset, information technology makes VR an hands accessible route into such escapism.
Building upon its predecessor, the $299 Oculus Quest two comes with a more than intuitive and slicker design, too as more performance and a boost to its display resolution. I won't say it's perfect, as in that location are a few drawbacks to the Oculus Quest 2. Just until the Oculus Quest 3 comes forth, the Oculus Quest 2 is my pick for the all-time VR headset.
Just be warned, thanks to Facebook'southward recent rebrand to Meta, Oculus now has a new name. So if yous run into anyone talking virtually the Meta Quest, know that they're talking nearly this.
- I bought an Oculus Quest ii instead of the PS5 — and I accept no regrets
- Hither's how to clean Oculus lenses
Oculus Quest ii: Cost and availability
Currently, the Oculus Quest 2 starts at $299 in the U.S. and £299 in the U.K. for the 64GB unit of measurement. But we'd suggest paying a little more to go the 256GB choice; it volition fix you dorsum $399 or £399, but will hold a lot more than games and apps.
Bank check out our round upwards of all the retailers you can cheque to notice where to buy the Oculus Quest ii.
Oculus Quest 2: Design
When it comes to design the Oculus Quest 2 is rather sleek for a virtual reality headset. Normally beefy googles ae replaced with light and comfy headset that'southward no 10% less heavy than its predecessor. A simple strap and four camera sensors on the headset give it a simple and make clean aesthetics that ways information technology looks decent just sitting on a desk-bound as well as mounted one's caput. And a lite gray color too makes the Quest 2 piece of cake on the eye.
The headset's sparse, smartly placed button and port layout helps maintain its seamless pattern. You'll find a power button on the correct side of the headset, a volume rocker on the correct underside, and a USB-C port and headphone jack on the left for charging and audio. You can arrange the spacing of the Oculus Quest two'due south lenses with 3 dissimilar viewing settings by pinching them or spreading them out manually correct inside the inside of the headset, eliminating the need for the switch that sat at the bottom of the original Quest.
At a compact vii.5 x 4 ten 5.2 inches and ane.ane pounds, the Oculus Quest 2 felt lightweight and comfortable, even when I spent more than an 60 minutes at a time in VR. A generous corporeality of foam padding made it like shooting fish in a barrel to forget I had a hunk of plastic strapped to my confront, while the headset's adjustable elastic bands allowed me to notice the right fit for my head. A word of warning: I finished a rather long play session with a comically large carmine indent on my forehead, so y'all might want to brand sure your Oculus Quest ii isn't besides tight before yous swoop in.
If yous're looking to go on your Oculus viewing experience pristine, check out our guide to how to clean Oculus lenses quickly and safely.
Oculus Quest 2: specs
| Oculus Quest ii | |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 |
| Brandish resolution | 1832 x 1920 per eye |
| Storage | 64GB, 256GB |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Battery life | two-three hours (rated) |
| Size | 7.5 x iv x five.ii inches |
| Weight | ane.1 pounds |
Oculus Quest ii: Getting set up
Like the original Quest, the Oculus Quest 2 is an all-in-i VR arrangement that doesn't require you to set up whatever external sensors or cameras — everything you need is right in the headset. The setup procedure only takes a few minutes; you'll put the headset on, activate your account via the Oculus mobile app, establish your play area, and you're good to go.
The Oculus Quest 2 one time once again uses Oculus' Guardian organization, which lets you sketch out a playspace with your Oculus Touch controllers to avoid bumping into walls and furniture. Creating my Guardian space was as uncomplicated as most painting a rectangle in my living room, which I could clearly see thanks to the headset'south Passthrough+ cameras. The Oculus Quest two's Passthrough+ mode is designed to reduce the depth disparity institute in other passthrough cameras, and I found information technology to match up well to my bodily surround during testing.
The headset will automatically switch to Passthrough mode if you get out your Guardian boundary, assuasive y'all to instantly encounter any surround y'all might come into contact with. At that place's also an optional ability to toggle Passthrough style with a quick tap on the side of the headset, which is handy for when y'all want to check in on the real world every now and so.
Oculus recommends having a half dozen.5 ten 6.v-pes space for room-scale VR, which allows y'all to freely walk around a virtual space for more active experiences. Don't have a ton of space to play with? You lot can also establish a stationary boundary for playing with the Oculus Quest ii while sitting or standing in a single spot. If the room you set things upwards in has a TV, it'south possible to cast your Oculus Quest ii to a TV set.
I important note: You'll eventually demand a Facebook account to use the Oculus Quest 2. According to Oculus' latest policies, all-new Oculus users volition have to log in via Facebook. Existing users have until the start of 2023 to use just their Oculus accounts; afterwards that, they'll have to merge their Oculus and Facebook accounts. While Oculus announced this change in the name of simplicity and privacy, information technology'south worth keeping this policy in mind if you lot choose not to use Facebook for personal or security reasons.
Oculus Quest 2: Upgrades
Rather than exit the Oculus Quest 2 as it is, Facebook has worked to push out updates, with the latest v28 update bringing in some serious upgrades.
You can bring your desk into the Oculus Home VR environment by placing a virtual desk on tiptop of your existing one to mimic its position in the real world. And you can apply as apply a Bluetooth keyboard with the Quest 2. Simply there are two significant updates.
The first brings a 120Hz refresh charge per unit option, ramping up from the 90Hz the Quest 2 comes with out of the box. It'll only work with uniform apps, but should make for a smoother experience.
The 2nd major upgrade, is you can connect to an external gaming PC wirelessly via Air Link. Currently, in an "Experimental" beta mode, Air Link can be accessed via the Oculus PC app and used to stream games without needing the optional Oculus Link cable. Simply bear in listen in listen that you'll need a robust Wi-Fi connection to become the virtually out of information technology. Every bit such, the Link cable might still be the amend selection for people with shoddy internet connections.
At that place'south also a rumor that the Oculus Quest 2 could come up gain access to Android apps, which could boost the scope of it's employ fifty-fifty farther. Simply VR on Android has been a mixed bag, so it's non something to become overly hopeful most.
Oculus Quest 2: Controllers and manus tracking
The Oculus Quest 2 features a redesigned version of the Oculus Touch Controllers congenital to evangelize meliorate gesture tracking. The setup is largely the aforementioned every bit before: each of the scoop-shaped controllers feature two shoulder buttons for doing things similar firing weapons and grabbing objects, with clickable analog sticks and a pair of confront buttons on each controller. Y'all'll also desire to utilise the included wrist straps to make sure they don't go flying in the middle of a tense lightsaber fight.
I found the Oculus Quest 2'southward controllers to be comfy and easy to use across a diversity of different games and experiences. The snappy triggers and accurate movement sensing immune me to snag easy headshots in Pistol Whip, and I had no trouble hacking abroad at color-coded blocks during the rhythm-action of Vanquish Saber. The controllers' haptics are too impressive, as they allowed me to feel the distinct buzz of an ignited lightsaber during Vader Immortal while keeping me on rail in Tetris Effect with a subtle pulse that matched the in-game music.
I'chiliad slightly disappointed that the Affect Controllers run on AA batteries, and aren't rechargeable via USB. Still, each controller uses but a unmarried bombardment, and both of my controllers are shown equally having total battery capacity on my Quest interface afterwards several weeks of use. The controllers are rated to offering effectually 30 hours of juice on a unmarried battery.
The Oculus Quest two too offers hand tracking, allowing you to navigate the headset's menus and play select games using your hands alone. While I capeesh having the option, I found that hand-tracking wasn't as intuitive every bit I'd hoped, and had problem getting my pinch-to-select gestures to register as I moved around the Oculus habitation screen.
In that location are currently but a scattering of Quest apps that support hand tracking, and the characteristic was choosy at best in the ones that I did use. While I eventually got the hang of navigating menus and moving documents around in the Spatial productivity app, I struggled to control hand-supported games such equally The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets.
Oculus Quest two: Performance
The Oculus Quest 2 has been given a performance crash-land over its predecessor, thank you to the utilise of a Snapdragon XR2 chip. Matched with 6GB of RAM, the Quest 2 has a notable leap in specs over the original Quest, which was saddled with a Snapdragon 835 CPU, a chipset designed more for smartphones than VR headsets. This means the Oculus Quest 2 runs a lot smoother than the older VR headset and makes for smooth and snappy carte navigation. And thankfully, I didn't encounter whatever slowdown when playing games while downloading several other titles in the background.
Games like Trounce Saber, Pistol Whip and Vader Immortal, ran smoothly and looked impressively well-baked and clear. That beingness said, I wouldn't exactly compare them to what you lot'd become out of an Xbox Series X or PS5, allow solitary a powerful gaming PC. Merely the titles I played were flush with color and detail to keep me immersed in the action. And I didn't feel any crashes or framerate dips to have me out of the VR experience.
Oculus Quest ii: Games
The Oculus Quest platform has clustered an impressively solid game lineup that runs the gamut from new takes on established AAA franchises to heady indie titles that brand full use of the Oculus Quest 2'southward VR abilities.
Highlights include rhythm-slashing game Beat Saber and the immersive time-angle shooting of Superhot VR, the latter of which made me feel like I was in a trippy sci-fi action movie every bit I controlled time and threw bullets dorsum at enemies.
As a Star Wars nerd, I completely geeked out on Vader Immortal, a first-person action-adventure game that had me sneaking around regal strongholds and engaging in tight lightsaber combat. And I absolutely loved Pistol Whip, a neon-drenched arcade shooter that had me popping headshots and dodging enemy burn down to the beat of pulsing EDM music.
Tetris Effect is already one of my favorite games of all time, but being able to enjoy its serene visuals in the Oculus Quest 2's completely immersive 3D environment fabricated the experience that much sweeter. And Polyarc'southward Moss is an excellent fusion of traditional controller-based platforming and deep VR interactivity, allowing you to move obstacles with your hands while guiding an adorable mouse with your joysticks.
Another awesome single-player game is Resident Evil 4 VR, which will add The Mercenaries fashion as free DLC in 2022.
The Quest ii also excels as a multiplayer auto, allowing you to play in virtual spaces with friends at a time when gathering in-person is more than difficult than ever. Chirapsia upward bad guys in VR brawler Path of the Warrior with a friend is ane of the most hilarious and fun multiplayer experiences I've had in a long time, and Eleven: Table Tennis VR did an admirable job translating my poor table lawn tennis skills to the virtual earth.
You can augment the Oculus Quest 2'due south game library fifty-fifty further with the $79 Oculus Link cable, which lets y'all connect your Quest to a VR-ready PC and play an fifty-fifty larger range of VR titles including Half Life: Alyx, Star Wars Squadrons and Fallout 4 VR. While it'due south a bummer that some of the best VR games out there aren't available on Quest 2 out of the box, the Oculus Link effectively turns your Quest into an Oculus Rift for slightly less than the Rift's $399 request cost.
Oculus Quest 2: Apps
The Oculus Quest 2 is much more than a gaming device, with a healthy selection of entertainment and productivity apps that permit you watch videos and collaborate with others in absurd ways. I looked effectually in awe as I virtually stood at the pinnacle of Mount Everest in a 360-caste YouTube VR video, and was surrounded by the mesmerizing percussion of the Blueish Man Group when watching their virtual concert in the Oculus TV app.
Oculus' TV app also allow me ride a virtual rollercoaster, which had my adrenaline surging and about fabricated me wimp out before I remembered I was sitting at my desk. The Spatial app provides an impressively robust virtual workspace for collaborating on documents and 3D models. Meanwhile the Virtual Desktop app allowed me to apply my Windows 10 PC in an immersive VR surround.
Oculus Quest 2: Audio
The Oculus Quest 2'southward built-in positional audio isn't new — it also appeared on the Quest and Rift Southward — just it yet blows my mind every time I use information technology. The headset'south built-in speakers pump out well-baked, loud audio without the need for headphones, with some impressive directionality to boot. I could hear where the buzzes of nearby bees and chirps of birds were coming from while hanging out in my habitation screen oasis, and could easily pinpoint enemy fire while blasting abroad in Pistol Whip.
If you desire fifty-fifty more immersive audio, the Oculus Quest two has a handy iii.5mm jack for connecting whatever headphones you similar. Only the headset's built-in audio feels like magic, and adds to its pick-upward-and-play attraction fifty-fifty more.
The Oculus Quest 2's built-in microphone proved dependable as well. I had no problem coordinating with a friend every bit nosotros tossed around bad guys in Path of the Warrior, and his phonation sounded crisp and clear coming from his own Quest 2.
Oculus Quest two: Bombardment life
The Oculus Quest 2 is rated for 2 to 3 hours of battery life: 2 if you're playing games, and around 3 if you're mostly watching videos. I found this to be largely in my line with my testing, as I only had to plug the Quest 2 in every few days while using it in minor chunks. After several sessions playing games on a fully charged Oculus Quest 2 for more than an hour, I found that the bombardment was around 50% tuckered by the time I finished.
Oculus Quest 2: Verdict
The Oculus Quest ii has a joyously simple "information technology merely works" magic to it that reminds me of the commencement fourth dimension I picked up a Nintendo Switch or an iPhone. Similar its predecessor, the Oculus Quest 2 eliminates the previous hurdles of getting into virtual reality — namely the need to take a powerful PC and tons of wires and sensors — and packs a ton of smashing experiences into a sleek device that you tin can popular on at a moment'southward notice.
If you already own an Oculus Quest, the Oculus Quest ii's improved design and performance lone might not sway you to plunk down another $299. And the new headset can become plush if you factor in the price of an Oculus Link cable or the optional 256GB model. But if you've yet to swoop into VR or desire to finally become untethered, the Oculus Quest 2's price, game library and overall ease of use brand it the best entry point into virtual reality yet.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/oculus-quest-2-review
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