The Oculus Quest (2019) was an amazing innovation as the first flagship standalone VR headset that offered 6 degrees of freedom (6dof). This was an important breakthrough that made VR available to everyone without the need for cables or additional computers—all at the accessible price point of $399.
The Oculus Quest 2 (2020) has taken an even larger leap forward. It's faster, more comfortable, and provides better graphics and audio than the Quest 1 for a more immersive experience. Most importantly, it’s even more affordable at an incredible price point of $299.
When considering the investment of getting your team to collaborate with clients and stakeholders across the world in a post-COVID era, investing in VR today is a no-brainer. The average cost of one business trip is $1293; that same expense could provide enough Quest 2 headsets for four team members.
The average cost of one business trip is $1293; that same expense could provide enough Quest 2 headsets for four team members.
The Quest 2 has been redesigned to be 10% lighter and comes with a new “soft-touch” strap. This provides a customized fit that allows for snugger seal; meaning it’s more comfortable for longer sessions in The Wild. There’s also an upgradable $50 Elite Strap for an even better fit.
The display is improved to an LCD screen with 50% more pixels. At an almost 4k resolution per eye, this means that your content looks more real in The Wild and provides a more realistic sense of immersion.
The new Touch Controllers are a bit bulkier, but provide a larger surface area to rest your thumbs so you don’t accidentally hit any buttons while moving. The controller battery also lasts 4x longer due to better tracking of LED lights in the halo rings.
Our favorite under-appreciated feature of the Quest 2 is the improved audio. Not only have the speakers moved closer to the ears to hear your team better, but the microphone has improved significantly to communicate clearer. The treble is less tinny, the bass has more presence, and it does a better job of canceling out background noise. Being able to communicate with the spatial audio in The Wild makes group meetings sound even more like real life.
A price-tag this low doesn’t come without its tradeoffs. As of October 2020, Facebook (the parent company of Oculus) has required a Facebook account to be connected to every new Quest headset in order to access the Quest Store (which the only current way to install The Wild on Consumer Quest devices.) As precedented with their social services, Oculus has stated in their privacy policy that this data can be used for targeted ads. This is a controversial move that some teams are conflicted to support.
Oculus for Business ($799/headset) may be a better option for your team for its enhanced privacy and control over content. These enterprise headsets do not require a Facebook account to be linked to them, and they also allow your team to deploy software at scale to multiple devices. Enterprise teams may want to consider this if they don’t want their teams using headsets connected to Facebook accounts.
The Quest 2 is a significant innovation that is pushing the VR industry to provide more affordable, more powerful collaboration to teams like yours. We look forward to seeing how other device manufacturers will respond with even better standalone devices to make VR a better experience for everyone.
Learn more about The Wild’s privacy policy and how we take your data protection seriously.
