In the tech world today, visualisation is regarded highly from normal UI designs for apps and websites, to gaming visuals and even to the Metaverse. The Oculus Quest 2 has been integrated with the Facebook parent company Meta and has thus been branded the name Meta Quest.
This has opened it to major updates that further stretched its capabilities ranging from functionality to features. The Quest 2 is currently the best VR headset you can buy currently and it has the capacity to serve as a standalone virtual reality system as well as a tethered VR headset.
The Oculus Quest 2 headset is a virtual reality headset that allows for a really genuine Virtual reality experience without cables attached. Prior to the unviel of the Oculus Quest 2 in September 2020 during facebook connect 7, the Quest 1 was released in May 2019 with the oculus quest system based on android source code.
The Oculus Quest 2 is an upgrade from its predecessor in every ramification with a lighter design, a shaper screen and a more powerful processor. The Oculus quest 2 packed with so much functionality doesn’t fall short in anyway when it comes to delivering immersive experience in gaming, and other VR experiences independent of any PC or smart phone tethering.
The Oculus quest 2 comes at a maximum price of $299 in the U.S. and £299 in the U.K. for the 128GB unit. But the better option would be the 256GB unit which set up your budget a little bit more to $399 and £399 respectively, this is a very valid upgrade as you would have twice the space to store your Oculus quest 2 games, apps and game data.
In Nigeria, the 128GB unit cost ₦270,000 and the 256GB unit cost ₦320,000 approximately (dependent on vendor). On the scale of cost and quality the win tilts in the direction of the Oculus Quest 2 because vast functionality and features delivered at lower price compared to other high end virtual reality headsets.
Design
The normally bulky googles associated with VR headsets have been dropped, leaving a rather sleek design of a light and comfortable headset slightly lighter than the predecessor which originally weighed 17.7 ounces and measured 4.0 by 7.5 by 5.6 inches (HWD) excluding the strap.
It comprises of four camera sensors, a simple strap, a USB-C port (for charging), headphone jack (for audio) and various smartly placed button maintaining a seamless design.
The face area was generously padded with foam reducing the impact of the plastic resting on the user’s face while the elastic bands permit proper fitting for the user’s head. Nonetheless, after a relative long period of use while excessively tight it does leave a little indent on the user’s forehead.
Specs
- Chipset Qualcom Snapdragon XR2
- Display Resolution 1832 x 1920 per eye
- Storage 128GB/256GB
- RAM 6GB
- Battery life 2-3 hours (rated)
- Size 7.5 x 4.0 x 5.2 inches
- Weight 1.1 pounds
- VR Category All-in-one VR
- Tracking Oculus Insight inside-out tracking
- Input Two Oculus touch controllers
- Display panel Fast-switched LCD
- Audio Integrated positioned audio
- Supported Usage Modes Seated, standing, room scale
- Glasses Friendly Comfortable to wear with glasses or RX inserts
Hardware
Motion controllers/ Oculus touch controllers: They have rounded handles with rings at the top for the headset cameras to easily track their positon with two triggers fit perfectly under the users index and middle fingers. The other controls including the analog stick lies on circular control surface at the top of the handle.
The Quest 2 can be used independent of the motion controllers as the headset supports hand tracking which uses the cameras to follow the position, shape and orientation of the user’s hands with various gestures available.
Software
The Oculus Quest 2 software allows for backward compatibility with applications and games from its predecessor, creating an even bigger arsenal of games and applications. Facebook account is a compulsory criterion for setting up the Oculus Quest 2.
Thanks to the suite updates since its release, the Oculus Quest 2 is much more capable than its predecessor. It has a 120Hz refresh rate option for compatible applications, Air link to wirelessly connect to PC and smartphones, ability to superimpose objects from the real world into the virtual space among other cool software features.
An Oculus menu system which sits like a floating panel over the Oculus home environment, is like a virtual home space is used to house the various applications, games and video contents. In this home space, you can manage the storage, and connect with friends through facebook.
Audio
It employs the use of a built-in positional audio as seen previously in the original Oculus Quest. The built-in speakers give out clear and loud sound with directionality without the need for headphones. The built-in microphone also delivers clear audio message across to others boosting team coordination, this adding to its pick up and play appeal.
To boost the audio experience, users have the option of using the 3.5mm headphone jack to connect any preferred headphones
Performance
The Snapdragon XR2 chip matched with the 6GB of RAM storage, the Oculus Quest 2 has a marginal bump over its predecessor resulting in smoother and snappier navigation with the virtual interface and no slowdown in games during background downloads.
The 2-3 hours of battery life is dependent on usage, 2 hours approximately for gaming and 3 for watching or streaming videos. For users that do not go in on a marathon usage, this would be just fine, this could also be used to limit excessive usage. Additional battery can be added to the Oculus Quest 2 with the use of the Quest 2 starp.
Games
The platform has a rather large arsenal of impressively solid games that make full use of the abilities of the Oculus Quest 2. A few games are listed below;
- Beat saber
- Resident evil 4
- Moss
- Rec Room
- The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
- Population: ONE
- Demeo
- Until You Fall
- Half-life
- Vader immortal
- Jurassic world aftermath
Applications
The spatial application provides an immersive and impressively robust virtual workspace for collaborating on documents and 3D models, while the virtual desktop application allows the use od a Windows 10 PC within the VR environment.
As much as the Oculus Quest 2 is a powerhouse for VR gaming, there is more to virtual reality than just playing games, below are some applications compatible with the Oculus Quest 2;
- Metaverse
- Youtube VR
- Netflix
- Prime video VR
- Vudu
- ESPN
- Bigscreen Beta
Conclusion
Dependent on your usage, the Oculus Quest 2 is definitely a good get with the only downside of low battery life, which can be catered for by the use of external battery that can be attached to the Quest 2 strap.
Dependent on compulsion to have a Facebook account linked, which is perceived as limitation to privacy, there is no remedy for it yet. There is talks about developing other means of logging in.
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