It’s the best all-in-one headset on the market. One and a half years on since the launch of the Oculus Quest 2, it’s evident the technology has significantly evolved.
But it’s not just the technology that’s changed, there’s been a huge re-brand too. Oculus and Facebook now come under the Meta banner, so by a technicality, this is now a year-in-review of the Meta Quest 2.
With every update, new features and improvements are being added, from finger and hand tracking to bringing real objects into VR, the innovation with this technology is growing rapidly.
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Rightly so, given we’re all set to jump inside the metaverse at some point over the next decade.
It won’t be long until everyone has a VR headset in their home.
Latest updates for the Meta Quest
You’re now able to sit at your desk in a virtual world, a tropical island, or a space station for example, and use your physical computer keyboard seamlessly.
An update released in January enables the Oculus user to bring in a new real-world object. The Apple Magic Keyboard was included in the update, adding to a handful of other supported keyboards.
Right now, to control the virtual world you’ll need to use two handheld controllers, but it won’t be long until you’ll need nothing but your hands. Oculus Touch is still in beta, but it essentially turns your hands into controllers, using pinch and swipe
Using your hands as the controllers is a game-changer and it worked so much better than I expected. There’s still a little way to go, but this is the next step in VR.
Gaming and VR experiences
Throughout my review period, I played as many games as possible.
I bought every single Vader Immortal chapter, played through Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, played all the available demos, finished Resident Evil 3, and then started my journey with Half-Life Alyx; the main event.
It’s been widely reported that Alyx sets the bar for VR, and I concur, it truly was an incredible experience. Unlike the other games I mentioned, I had to connect the Oculus to my PC to experience Half-Life Alyx. The modern graphical requirements of a game like this don’t yet fit inside the all-in-one headset.
Oculus has a specialised linking cable to connect your headset to your PC. It’s called Link and it’s similar to a standard USB-C cable, but offers faster speeds and won’t tangle as easily as a standard cable would. It’s also almost five metres long, or 16 foot – you’ll have no troubles spacing out while connecting to your PC.
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Games aside, the virtual social world is an intimidating place. Entering a VR chat room gave me just as much anxiety as the real thing would, except I was wearing a really cool hat.
Social media is full of people deeply involved in the VR world, from a group of people sitting around a poker table getting into arguments, to people going on dates – it’s the perfect social tool, evident after Australia (and the world’s) many lockdowns.
Many people say VR is a great way to exercise, which I can attest. Most games I played have some physical aspect, from punching, ducking, reaching – it’s not a bad way to work up a sweat.
There are also many apps available targeted at fitness directly, from boxing to pilates.
What’s next for Meta Quest and virtual reality?
There’ll no doubt be an updated piece of hardware released later this year. It’ll likely be the first piece of new tech to embrace the Meta name and offer technical advances tenfold the Quest 2.
That’s not to say the current Quest generation isn’t something to gawk at, if anything it means the Oculus Quest 2 will become more accessible than ever before and open dozens of new doors for gamers, businesses, and consumers alike.
This new VR headset, wherever and whatever it may be, will change the way the world perceives “Virtual Reality” and will make it more accessible than ever before.
Can you use VR while wearing glasses?
There’s still a ways to go for four-eyed users, myself included in that slander. Other headsets are a struggle, thankfully the Oculus Quest 2 comes with a glasses space to fit your specs inside the headset, but it’s still far from perfect.
After doing a little bit of research, aka Googling, I found a couple of solutions online.
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You can get prescription lenses through Meta via the website FramesDirect, but the service doesn’t seem to be accessible in Australia.
Another alternative is a China-based company, not owned by Facebook/Meta, that produces prescription lenses for various VR headsets called “VR Wave”. They produce lenses for a number of popular headsets, including the Oculus Quest 2.
Absolute genius.
Unfortunately, I was just borrowing the headset and didn’t have the time (or the spare cash) to order a set of prescription VR lenses. Depending on your prescriptions, they’ll likely set you back more than a standard pair of glasses from Specsavers.
Given we’re all about to enter the metaverse, prescription lenses for VR is something I’d definitely consider in the future.
For now, I’ll be subjected to daily targeted advertising across my social media accounts.
Should you buy the Oculus Quest 2?
It’s the most affordable all-in-one headset on the market right now, nothing else compares. It’s also the leader when it comes to software and apps.
The Oculus Quest 2 retails online for about $479 for the 128GB version, which includes the headset and two controllers. There’s not much else that comes close in comparison.
Facebook, or Meta as it’s now known, has created an intuitive, user-friendly virtual reality experience for all.
The current generation Oculus Quest is a wonderful piece of tech, right now it’ll give you access to all the VR and metaverse activities you could need.
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If you’re looking to start your VR journey, you really can’t go wrong with the Oculus Quest 2.
Source: 9NEWS