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

This review will follow the same format as my previous Oculus 2 review and comparisons will be made, although I'm targeting those unfamiliar with the Quest and/or VR as well. My Oculus Quest 2 256GB arrived a few hours ago .I swore to myself to do my job, although I found myself opening it in about half an hour and there I was 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 that fact, I feel like the Quest 2 looks like the Quest Go because it also had a fabric strap. With that in mind, the Quest 2 headset (also being a smaller unit) looks 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, as it is, without a doubt, much more comfortable than the previous Quest. Perhaps a large part of this is due to the fact that the unit is not as heavy. A heavy helmet would require something more than a fabric strap, so that's something Oculus has managed to evade. 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 want to avoid be 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) isn't white as I had originally assumed - more of a very light gray. The outline looks white when removed from the box, but it's 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 gets rid of the previous material faces from the previous Quest which accumulated dirt and sweat. Similar padding is present however, although there is less foam compared to the original Quest. The Quest 2 replaces half of this previous foam with a plastic attached to the helmet and foam. It's an improvement to minimize foam, but I think rubber is better used for its durability and waterproof quality. I think sweat soak could actually do part of the idea, kinda 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 plug 3.5 mm headphone jack. One button at the bottom The volume cule is located at the bottom right of the device.———————TOUCH CONTROLLER Holding the first controller in my hand, I could tell it was bigger too. Even as a person 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 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' on which 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. Just slide the plastic tabs and the batteries make their connection and the controllers are ready to use. Apparently more attention has been paid to ensure the battery compartment slider doesn't slip during frantic gameplay like 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 in differentiating a figurative finger swipe versus a clash of swords. I haven't experienced a difference here yet, but by myself recalling, I will be more aware of the report. graphics/animations relating to button usage and Oculus Guardian setup. 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 it 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 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 Quest 2 didn't do the same, although they may do so in the future. ————— IMAGE QUALITY There are going to be two distinct people when it comes to how the image will be judged. First there are those who will compare to Quest and those who will simply be surprised as first-time VR user. Some might say that Quest users have been "spoiled" before, but it's always a question of how Quest technology has improved. So the burning question is; Is she blown 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 found out the lenses could be adjusted after reading the cardboard tabs I had removed containing instructions for doing so. There is a 3 way adjuster. points in which you enter one (or both) of the beats which 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 either side. Pulling the lenses inward gives the impression that you are looking through a porthole (as many are used to). through the "porthole". For now, I've chosen the latter. This may simply be a consequence of the setting options offered (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 probably notice the difference not at first, but when they do a comparison. I'm glad I didn't sell my quest too much to allow me to. 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 the controllers there is also an option to view your real surroundings while the virtual graphics are placed on top, this is 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. ..CLOSE-UP viewing object. This is the key to all VR clarity here. noticed this prominently when I bought and played the Walkabout Mini Golf and watching the course and its details from a bird's eye view. Absolutely intriguing. As crisp 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 crispy mid/bottom too!—————SOUND Crisp, 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 half that volume. Nevertheless, there seems to be a slight improvement. The highs, lows and mids are there, making the listening experiences immersive. I'll be experimenting with my Sennheiser 650 headphones soon, but there was a lot to download besides my old game catalogs that I was happy to see. When Quest launched there were only around 8 games so those entering the Quest 2 scene will be doing so at a good time since there are plenty of them on the store now and there is plenty of free content to enjoy too. Even in virtual space, the head tracking is noticeably better. While I didn't notice any latency with the Quest, there's just a level of quality to the movement that's hard to describe. is just a greater sense of reality. I expect that feeling to increase maybe, at least in high speed apps and games when the refresh rate is increased. Facebook revealed that it is currently set to 72Hz, but that it will be bumped up to 90Hz. Before buying a Quest 2, I asked YouTube if my apps and games purchased for the Quest would carry over to the Quest 2. That 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 at lightning speed but I was miffed to find that game saves are NOT carried over. I was hoping to continue my extensive pro sandstone on Mini Moto Racing X, but this is apparently not the case. Nonetheless, 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 lag racing just to enjoy it (after viewing the quest 20 mins ago). 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 improvement in the graphics was visible even from the menu screen and got better as the game continued. An important feature of the Quest 2 is its ability to be connected to a PC My sole 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 the 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 ( other than table tennis) which I have witnessed so far. It feels 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 THOUGHT As a former Quest owner, I'm happy with my upgrade. However, since saved games are not kept, I will still keep the quest for now, as I will have 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 with doing that, but I think getting rid of those 'sides' is going to take the immersion to the next level. Also, the front cameras could easily be a much better resolution to open up to reality potential and future augmented.As far as I know, these are not special cameras and cameras these days are not expensive, so having a VR headset with AR capabilities shouldn't be too much of a wait.For those entering 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 than to enter than through the Oculus 2. You get the full VR experience you can walk around in one piece, you get great visuals and on top of that, you have access to a whole host of titles, be it experiences (apps) or games you care about. 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, it's 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 is going to become astronomical. It's great to be part of its 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 and easy to install* Good battery life* Charges fairly quickly (about 2.5 hours) Cons* Front cameras still have poor resolution marring the potential for augmented reality central glare inside* Sawed-off side straps in the ears* Physical games cause the padding to soak up sweat* A Facebook account is required