VR Headsets have been on the market for a handful of years now. But it wasn’t until last spring that they became truly accessible to the mainstream consumer, with the release of the original Oculus Quest headset. While previous headsets offered a mind-bending gaming experience, they were cumbersome, relying on external position sensors and needing to be tethered to a powerful computer. There were a few all-in-one VR headsets available, but they were all woefully underequipped to provide a truly immersive experience. The Oculus Quest changed the game by being the first VR headset to offer competitive technical specs in a standalone headset. Users could watch videos or game in VR just about anywhere, with no additional hardware. The Oculus Quest 2 improves on nearly every spec that matters, promising an overall better VR experience. And you can pre-order the Oculus Quest 2 today.
Is it worth upgrading from the original Oculus Quest? That’s going to be a tough call to make. Here’s a quick look at the differences between the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2.
| Oculus Quest 2 | Oculus Quest | |
| Pixels per eye | 1832 x 1920 | 1440 x 1600 |
| Display type | Fast-Switch LCD | OLED |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 72Hz (will be upgraded to 90Hz) | 72Hz |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 |
| Storage | 64GB or 256GB | 64GB or 128GB |
| RAM | 6GB | 4GB |
| Battery Life | 2 to 3 hours | 2 to 3 hours |
| Weight | 503 grams | 571 grams |
| Position Tracking | 6 Degrees of Freedom Internal cameras | 6 Degrees of Freedom Internal cameras |
The biggest changes are the increase in display resolution—which will hopefully help minimize the screen door effect—and the processor upgrade. Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon XR2 SoC promises massive increases in both CPU and GPU performance, with some benchmarks indicating the new chip is twice as powerful. That should translate to much better graphics and smoother overall gameplay, which both lead to an overall more immersive experience. The new headset is also about ten percent lighter, which will be a noticeable difference during marathon gaming sessions.
The Oculus Quest 2 will be released on October 13, but you can pre-order yours today.
In the Oculus Quest 2, the majority of the improvements are occurring under the hood, but there are also some superficial changes that deal with style and comfort. Common complaints on the first Oculus Quest included a tendency toi j=
Click here to pre-order the Oculus Quest 2 at Abt.
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