Oculus Quest 2 Review 【Cheapest VR Yet】

I hope you will agree with me when I say:

 “Virtual Reality is enhancing the connection of humans with technology!” 

Since Virtual Reality is a growing industry, companies manufacturing VR headsets are constantly evolving their products. Similarly, Oculus, a Facebook-owned VR company, has released a number of VR headsets into the market with Oculus Quest 2 being the latest and the best one yet!

Not only is it the company’s best one but also the number one product in the category overall!

Although it is a successor to Oculus Quest Virtual Reality Headset, a few changes have quite upped the game. Keep scrolling through this article for a detailed Oculus Quest 2 review.

If you’re really looking for high quality, you can see the best Oculus VR headsets. If you don’t want to go into the hassle of buying a VR-compatible device, just see these top VR standalone headsets.

Oculus Quest 2 Review

Why We Love It:

 

 

Pros	Cons
Sharp Visuals	Requires a Facebook Account
Powerful Processor	Short Battery Life
Intuitive Controllers	Requires Wire for PC
Affordable
Impressive Game Library

 

The Oculus Quest 2 could not have come out at a better time than the pandemic. Out of the major consequences of this disastrous of times was being confined to your homes. However, free time was utilized in various ways, with gaming being one of them. We all are familiar with how virtual reality has shaped gaming experiences and therefore, Oculus Quest 2 became a big hit.

With better features and affordable nature, the Oculus Quest 2 made its way to the top of the VR headsets list. Keeping the standalone quality intact, the Quest 2 emerged with improved visuals and lesser weight. These qualities combined to provide us with an immersive and comfortable experience. Furthermore, Oculus Quest 2 cost dropped from $399 to $299, making it one of the cheapest ones in the market.

In case if you are looking for more cheap options, we already have a comprised list of the Best Cheap VR Headsets for Android in 2022.

A Virtual Reality experience is sometimes interrupted with limits caused by tethering. However, with Quest 2 you are able to enjoy the wireless immersion into virtual reality, along with the ability to connect to PCs as well, through cables. The duality increases the variations of experiences that you can put your hands on! Together with a powerful processor, you can make the best out of virtual reality.

You can get the Oculus Quest 2 on Amazon

Price & Availability

Although the starting price is $299, which is 100 dollars less than the original Oculus Quest, there is another variant too that costs around the same range as the original one. The cost of the two variants is dependant upon their storage sizes. The headset with 64 GB of storage is priced at $299 whereas the 256 GB version costs $349.

The Quest 2 is available at the original website of Oculus. Moreover, it can also be availed from Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy.

Design

If you take a meager look at the exterior of the Quest 2 VR headset, you will possibly find it not much different than its predecessor. Both the Quest models have an identical rounded plastic front with an outward-facing tracking camera on each corner.

However, with a slightly closer inspection, you will be able to discover that the Quest 2 is lighter than the original Quest, weighing 17.7 ounces. Moreover, it is also relatively smaller with dimensions 4.0 by 7.5 by 5.6 inches.

The smaller and lighter body of the Quest 2 makes it easy to wear for long durations of time!

Previously all the Oculus models were well-known for their all-black exterior. However, the Quest 2 has a completely white body, with a black foam face mask. The controllers with Quest 2 are white as well with not many changes compared to the previous generations. The faceplate at the front is almost bare and the four cameras are studded along the edge of the headset.

The Quest 2 features all of the required functionalities. Along with two pinholes for the microphone, a volume adjuster is present on the underside of the headset. On the right side of the headset, the power button and an LED indicator light are incorporated, while the left side is occupied by a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

You can quite easily adjust the position of lenses with respect to your line of vision by either pulling out the eye mask inserting the separator in case of glasses. The separator is included in the VR headset package. Furthermore, the headband can be mounted on three sides on plastic arms that have slight mobility for better adjustment. The headband is made up of elastic straps allowing flexibility for every head shape.

The arms of the headset at the sides contain speakers, close to your ears so that there remains not much need for separate headphones. Moreover, hook-and-loop (Velcro) fasteners connect the top band with the headset. This accounts for enhanced fit against your face.

Sliding clips are used to clasp the two sidebands at the back of the head. These hooks and clasps not only allow greater adjustment but also makes the headset easy to be handled by the user. You do not need another pair of hands to close the claps at the back of your head! 

Hardware

The hardware up-gradation of the Quest 2 headset is quite commendable. The performance has been significantly increased with the replacement of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 by the Snapdragon 865-derived Snapdragon XR2.

Moreover, the Quest 2 becomes the most affordable option available in the market for you to lay your hands on this processor. Smartphones featuring this particular chip are way more expensive than $300.

Not only is the performance enhanced, but the visuals have been improved as well. The pixels have been updated from 1,600 X 1,440 in the previous Oculus Quest VR to 1,920 X 1,832. Moreover, it has been promised as well for 90 Hz support in the future to the original 72 Hz refresh rate. Even better, the Quest 2 comes with an extra 2 GB of RAM than its predecessor, making it up to 6 GB.

However, with all these amazing advancements the issue with the battery life still remains intact. In this aspect, the upgraded model is quite similar to the Oculus Quest specs. Both offer only 3 hours of battery time.

In case if you are inclined towards a long period of gaming, Oculus has provided a solution as well. The Quest 2 Elite Strap comes with an added battery. This, however, costs $129, which is not much considering the Oculus Quest cost.

Performance

One of the best upgrades that the Quest 2 has to offer is the sharper display than its predecessor’s. The difference in the resolution is quite noticeable to skip. With better resolution, however, some of the key features of the original Quest still remained intact. The head tracking ability is still the same, with its four cameras scanning the vicinity at all times, while the internal sensors keep track of the orientation. These cameras track the controllers too while the internal sensors track the motion.

Furthermore, the VR Oculus review would be incomplete without the mention of the full six-degrees-of-freedom (DoF) the device has to offer. The 6 DoF allows full immersion to provide the best of the experiences. Similar to its predecessor, the Quest 2 uses the identical Guardian system that keeps track of the boundary and alerts you when you are about to traverse it. It even allows you to set up a stationary circle for games that do not require much movement.

Controllers

The Oculus Quest 2 controllers are pretty much the same as the Oculus touch controllers that were compatible with both Quest and Rift, with only some slight changes in the design. Each plastic remote is equipped with a grip button and a trigger, an analog stick, and two face buttons. The rings on top of the cylindrical handles allow for tracking by the cameras in the headset, with two triggers to fit perfectly well with the position of the index and middle fingers.

The thicker design of the controllers lets you handle them with more grip now. The battery is more secure with a lesser tendency to fall off while gameplay. Moreover, the Quest 2 controllers come now with a hand tracking ability as well.

The cameras detect the location, placement, and structure of your hands. This feature helps you control the in-pointer by pitching your forefinger and thumb for a moment serving as a click. In order to drag the pointer, pinch and hold the forefinger and the thumb. However, this hand control feature works only with some of the applications.

Speaking about the internal features of the controllers, they still rely upon AA batteries just like their predecessors. Each controller uses one battery which is not a lot. Although rechargeable controllers would have been very much appreciated, the company claims that the new controllers are much more efficient. They are said to last four times as long as their predecessors with one battery. However, assurances have been made for rechargeable ones in the near future.

For children-friendly options, do give our article on 8 Best VR for Kids to Buy in 2022 a read!

 

Battery

With respect to the battery life of the Oculus Quest 2, people have somewhat mixed feelings! The Oculus Quest 2 has an approximate battery life of about 2 to 3 hours, depending upon the type of use. For instance, the headset can easily complete 2 hours when it is being used for gaming sessions.

However, the Quest 2 can last up to 3 hours in case if it is being used to watch videos. Normally, the battery duration is quite adequate but for those who tend to have long gaming durations, this might not be an attractive feature.

Audio

The audio system of the Quest 2 headset is the same as that of the Quest and Rift S. This, however, is not a disappointment, at all!

The Quest 2’s in-built speakers provide an immersive experience with its loud, clear, and crisp sound quality. There hardly remains the need for headphones to be used with them. Moreover, the in-built speakers complete the standalone ability of the VR headset. Still, however, the headset allows you to use any type of headphones along with it, by featuring a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Furthermore, not only the sound system is impressive, the microphone of the headset is of great quality. The sound received from a Quest 2’s microphone is quite clear and crisp.

Applications

The use of Virtual Reality headsets has evolved and come a long way from where they initially started. They are no more limited to the domain of games only. They have become a lot smarter, with plenty of other entertainment options, as well. Besides entertainment, it can be used for productive and informational purposes, too. At present, it all depends on how you wish to make use of them.

The Quest 2 now supports various types of applications that allow you to watch videos or communicate with others. You can either watch videos on YouTube or use the Oculus TV application. You can also use it to view your documents or 3-D models. Moreover, you can also use the headset for viewing the Desktop screen of your Windows computer. The Quest is only there to enhance your screen time experiences.