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Oculus Unveils Next-Gen Quest 2 VR Headset Aimed at Broader Market, Will Phase Out Rift S

Todd Spangler
·3 min read

Facebook is still trying to make its $2 billion acquisition of Oculus more than six years ago pay bigger dividends.

The social giant’s Oculus virtual-reality division has taken the wraps off Quest 2: a new version of its standalone wireless VR headset that delivers higher performance and higher video resolution than its predecessor. The Quest 2 also will feature a lineup of new games and other experiences, including titles from Lucasfilm’s Star Wars and Universal’s Jurassic World franchises.

And it’s 25% cheaper, which Oculus is hoping it will appeal to a bigger range of consumers: Quest 2 starts at $299, $100 less than the original all-in-one Quest VR headset. Pre-orders are open now (at oculus.com and via retailer partners including Best Buy, Target and Walmart) and the Quest 2 is slated to ship Oct. 13.

Going forward, Oculus says it will focus on standalone VR headsets — which means it will end sales of the Rift S product that connects to PCs in 2021. It also will end sales of the original Quest headset. However, Oculus says it will continue to support the Rift platform with high-end PC VR experiences like “Lone Echo II” and “Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond” (and will support content on the legacy Quest unit as well).

Quest 2, in addition to being able to access existing VR content in the Quest library, will feature upcoming titles that take advantage of the new headset’s higher performance profile. Those include “Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge,” “Myst,” “Jurassic World Aftermath,” “Warhammer 40,000 Battle Sister,” “Pistol Whip: 2089,” “The Climb 2” and “Rez Infinite.” Quest 2 also is compatible with Oculus Link, so users can access PC VR gaming titles including “Asgard’s Wrath,” “Stormland,” “Lone Echo” and “The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners,” as well as upcoming titles.


Cyan Worlds “Myst” for Oculus Quest 2

On the hardware side, Oculus says Quest 2 takes a “multi-generational leap in processing power” with the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform, which offers greater artificial-intelligence capabilities, as well as 6 gigabytes of memory. The headset’s display features 1832-by-1920 pixels of resolution (per eye), the highest-resolution display for an Oculus device, and will be capable of supporting a 90 Hz refresh rate. In addition, the Quest 2 is 10% lighter.

Quest 2 comes with new Touch controllers designed to offer better ergonomics, and they feature optimized controller tracking to make it more efficient and provide improved battery life over the original Quest’s Touch controllers, according to the company.

Finally, Quest 2 will have a new line of optional accessories, including customizable head straps and the Fit Pack, which provides swappable facial interfaces to fit wider or narrower face shapes.

The entry-level $299 Quest 2 includes 64 gigabytes of storage. The $399 model includes 256 GB of storage (compared with 128 GB in the current $499 Quest headset). Both models include two controllers.

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