Oculus Quest 2 — Advanced All-In-One Virtual Reality Headset — 64 GB

This review will follow the same format as my previous review of the Oculus 2 and comparisons will be made, although I am targeting those unfamiliar with the Quest and/or VR as well. My Oculus Quest 2 256GB are arrived a few hours ago. I swore to myself to do my job, even though I found myself opening it in about half an hour and there I was again experiencing the virtual world ironically in a world that is currently in chaos.— ———————UNBOXING / HELMET The box (pictured) includes a cellophane wrapped outer sleeve covering an attractive natural colored box (pictured) with a lift-up lid. It feels like a quality reminiscent of Mac products. Inside the box in their own neatly arranged compartments are the headset, controllers, quick start guide and USB 3 cable and power supply in a small box and spacer to place on the unit for those who wear glasses. Picking up the headset I could feel it was compact and quiet - notably smaller than the previous Quest, but that was largely due to the rigid rubber headband being replaced with a cloth one. In light of this fact, I feel like the Quest 2 resembles the Quest Go as it also had a fabric strap. With that in mind, the Quest 2 headset (also being a smaller unit) feels like a Go/Quest hybrid. Not only is the helmet light, but smaller and much easier to handle. The fabric strap can be considered a cheaper solution, but I think it is a much more effective solution, especially taking comfort into account, since it is, without a doubt, much more comfortable than the previous Quest. This may be largely due to the unit not being as heavy. A heavy headset would require something more than a fabric strap, so that's something Oculus has managed to elude. but having felt how light and comfortable the device is, I don't feel any need for it. Perhaps people who play high-paced games might find it useful, though. There is a £119 version which offers a battery mounted version to extend battery life (plus a carrying case) so I imagine this is useful especially for people who game on the go and / or wish to avoid being wired. .EDIT: Having used for hours now, the side strips have occasionally sawed off the top of my ears, which is slightly irritating, but excusable. The Quest 2's nose bridge is considerably tighter and can be felt more, but that comes with the benefit that it blocks out more light, adding to the immersion. The color of the headset (and controllers) is not white as I had originally assumed - more of a very light gray. The outline appears white when removed from the box, but is actually a paper liner that is removed. Overall the headset, in addition to being compact, has a better feel thanks to nicer curves. The front is like a rounded bean shape, with no flat surface. The unit is all plastic and rids the previous hardware faces from the previous quest that accumulated dirt and sweat. Similar padding is present though, although there is less foam compared to the original Quest. The Quest 2 replaces half of that previous foam with plastic adjoining the helmet and foam. It's an improvement to minimize foam, but I think rubber is best used for its durability and waterproof quality. I think the sweat soak could actually be part of the idea, kind of like a headband though... The headset features the power button on the right side (when wearing), USB 3 (charging and PC data) on the left side with a 3.5 mm jack for headphones. A volume rocker is located on the bottom right of the device.——————— TOUCH CONTROLLERS Holding the first controller in my hand, I could tell it was bigger too. Even as someone with large hands, I wondered if this size was necessary, especially since many users will have smaller hands than me. Still, it might just be a matter of getting used to, being used to the smaller Quest controllers. The buttons are further apart and the top face, previously a teardrop shape, is now circular and features a place where the user can rest their thumb. As before, we have 'Y' and 'X' buttons and a thumb controller on each, including an Oculus button for recalibrating and returning to the home screen. There's also a "thumb pad" to rest your thumb on, which seems somewhat unnecessary to me - or at least not a good reason to extend the top side. “easier to use” although they feel like the Quest to me - good quality and they do the job. Luckily the controllers still take one AA battery in each and they come installed with one. Simply slide the plastic tabs and the batteries connect and the controllers are ready to use. Apparently more attention has been paid to ensuring that the battery compartment slider doesn't slip during frantic play as it would have with the Quest, although this has never happened to me. feature in which the rumble function in the controllers is meant to be more dynamic by differentiating a figurative finger swipe versus a clash of swords. I have yet to experience a difference here, but remembering will make me more aware of the connection. graphics/animations relating to button usage and configuration of Oculus Guardian. For those unfamiliar with VR, the Guardian setup is a virtual line that is drawn around the room (with the controller) with the threshold set at the point where you might bump into things. At this point, I think that was at least halfway through the 'moment of truth'. Immediately I was judging the graphics at this point (explained below), but I wasn't too impressed. After setup I found myself in the default environment and the first thing I noticed is that the dashboard and everything else is much smaller. The controls and navigation have also changed and not for the better in my opinion. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but I was just enjoying how good the huge console was on the previous Oculus. error rather than knowing what you are pressing. I hope there is a setting to do this otherwise. The previous quest turned into a great little game that demonstrated the capabilities of the system after setup. It's a shame the Quest 2 didn't do the same, although they may do so in the future.————— IMAGE QUALITY It's going to be two separate people when it comes to how whose image will be judged. First there are those who will compare themselves to the Quest and those who will simply be amazed as a first-time VR user. Some might say that Quest users have already been "spoiled", but it's always a question of how Quest technology has improved. So, the burning question is; Did the image quality blow me away as a previous Quest user? ..... to which the answer is a resounding "no". First, the setup screen (mostly white and pastel colors) didn't give me enough images to judge, although my opinion remains the same after venturing out. , I observed some blurring - mostly on the sides, then discovered that the lenses could be adjusted after reading the cardboard tabs I had removed containing instructions for doing so. There is a 3-point adjuster where you enter one (or both) of the beats that move together over a range of 3 positions. The good news is that adjusting the lens helped relieve 50% of the blur, but on the other hand the position of the lenses that my eyes witnessed this at (at the extremes - right and left) causes some black "walls" on each side. Pulling the lenses inward gives the impression that you are looking through a porthole (as many are used to). through the "window". For now, I've chosen the latter. It may just be a consequence of offering tuning options (this may be a blessing for some). At extreme lens settings, there was also noticeable central glare against all color backgrounds. With that issue aside, to allow for fair judgment, I put on my previous Oculus and observed the difference. Quest 2 in COMPARISON is significantly better, even with the blurring issue present. So I think that's the conclusion. Previous Quest users will likely notice the difference not at first, but when doing a comparison. I'm glad I didn't sell my quest too much to allow myself to do it and appreciate the difference. Granted, some may notice the difference right off the bat. The Oculus 2, just like the previous one, has 4 cameras on the front of the headset used to track controllers. There is also an option to display your real surroundings while the virtual graphics are placed above i.e. augmented reality. I was very surprised to find that despite the potential of AR, they still hadn't brought these cameras to acceptable resolutions - just the same mediocre resolution needed for controller tracking alone. Colors are as vibrant as the Quest - rich and pleasing. The Oculus 2 measures 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye (50% increase in resolution over the original Quest). EDIT: After playing for a few hours now, I can say with certainty that this is a significant improvement in the graphics department. ..look at the object CLOSE UP. Here is the decisive argument for all the clarity of virtual reality. The very limit of the graphics is seen when looking at things right next to the eyes, timed like you're holding a gun in a game. I noticed this prominently when I bought and played the Walkabout Mini Golf and in looking at the course and its details from a bird's eye view. Absolutely intriguing. As sharp as 4K! There's no doubt we've reached a normal level of display where we can beat our retinas (hence Apple's "Retina" monitor), but we still need these continued technological advancements to make things happen at the Crisp middle/bottom too!—————SOUNDCrisp, clear and quality. I felt it was better than the sound quality of the Quest, even though the volume was turned up when I usually listen at half that volume. Nevertheless, there seems to be a slight improvement. Highs, lows and mids are all there, making hearing experiences immersive. I will be experimenting with my Sennheiser 650 headphones soon.——————APPS & GAMES/PERFORMANCE Being a new system, the closet was empty as far as downloaded titles go, but there was plenty to download besides my old ones catalogs of games that I was happy to see. When Quest launched there were only around 8 games so those who enter the Quest 2 scene will do so at the right time as there are plenty on the store now and there is plenty of free content to enjoy too. Even in virtual space, head tracking is noticeably better. While I didn't notice any latency with the Quest, there's just a level of quality to the motion that's hard to describe. Basically, it's just a greater sense of reality. I expect that feeling to maybe increase, at least in high speed apps and games when the refresh rate is increased. Facebook revealed that it's currently set to 72Hz, but will be bumped up to 90Hz. Before buying a Quest 2, I asked YouTube if my purchased apps and games for the Quest would carry over at Quest 2. It was confirmed provided I linked/merged my Facebook account to my Oculus account, which I did. As mentioned, all my games were there and I'm downloading a few of them at lightning speed, but I was miffed to find that game saves are NOT carried over. I had hoped to continue my vast progress on Mini Moto Racing X, but that is apparently not the case. Nevertheless, opening Mini Moto Racing X open and the graphics are notably the sharpest and the experience has been improved overall. I found myself running through the environment delaying the run just to enjoy it (having watched the quest 20 minutes prior). Then I tried Pistol Whip and added not only the graphics to the text but also the head tracking which improved the game significantly. The improved graphics was visible even from the screen from the menu and improved as the game continued. An important feature of the Quest 2 is its ability to be connected to a PC. My only intention is to play independently although I would have tested for the sake of my review, although I am currently a Mac user strictly due to work. Oculus Quest refresh rate is up to 90Hz Launch refresh rate is 72Hz Besides my previous games I bought and played Walkabout Mini Golf and it is the most realistic thing ( aside from table tennis) which I have witnessed to date. It looks like a real mini golf game. The physics are absolutely perfect. I also experienced RezInfinite and was blown away, literally saying 'wow' - completely different to me.——————FINAL THOUGHTS As a former Quest owner, I'm happy with my upgrade. However, since saved games are not retained, I will still keep the quest for now, as I will need to play my games on this system. As a conditioned VR user, in light of those “walls” and “porthole” I mention, I hope there will be more emphasis on increasing the field of view. I don't know anything about the technical details and issues of making this happen, but I think getting rid of these "sides" is going to take immersion to the next level. Also, the front cameras could easily be a much better resolution to open up to potential and future augmented reality. As far as I know, these aren't special cameras and cameras these days aren't expensive, so getting a VR headset with AR capabilities shouldn't be too much of a wait. For those getting into VR for the first time, or even from something like the Oculus Go that only tracks a hand movement, there's probably no better way to get in than through the Oculus 2. You get the full VR experience where you can walk around a room, you get great visuals and on top of that you have access to a whole host of titles whether it's experiences (apps) or games that interest you . If you're on the go, or like to have lots of apps and games available quickly and easily, you might want to consider the 256GB version for an extra £100. More importantly, if we consider the fact that apps will get bigger and bigger in file size, this is a future-proof option. If you're just dipping your toe in as a first-time user, the 128GB might serve you well. up close' and I'm really looking forward to it. Virtual reality will become astronomical. It's great to be a part of his advancement. The Quest 2 is up there with the best hardware to experience right now!——————Advantages* "Up close" objects are near 4K sharpness in the original Quest)* PC connectivity though no PC required* Haptic feedback (yet to be seen)* Huge range of titles at launch* Greater feeling of being in a "reality".* Crisper image with a much greater sense of depth* More responsive tracking head* Much more comfortable & easy to fit* Good battery life* Charges fairly quickly (around 2.5 hours) Cons* Front cameras still have poor resolution tainting augmented reality potential* Lens adjustment results in extreme "walls"* Lens adjustment results in central glare inside* Side straps seen in ears* Physical games cause padding to soak up sweat* Facebook account required