Is Meta Quest 2 – All in One VR Headset Worth It? (Jan 2023)

Oculus Quest 2 Rating

Oculus Quest 2: Specs

• Platforms: Standalone, PC via Oculus Link
• Resolution Per Eye: 1,832 by 1,920
• Refresh rate: 90 Hz (120 Hz experimental)
• Motion Detection: 6DOF
• Controllers: Touch Controllers (included)
• Hardware Platform: Standalone
• Software Platform: Oculus
• Field of view: 89 degrees
• Price: $299.99/£299.99 for 128 GB

What Is Oculus Quest 2?

Introducing the Oculus Quest 2, now officially named Meta Quest, a virtual reality headset that allows you to watch videos, play games, and enjoy other immersive experiences without tethering your device to a PC or docking your phone.

For beginners as well as experienced VR fans, the Oculus Quest 2 is the best VR headset available. Basically, it’s a must-have device if you’re looking for the best VR experience without the need to set up a PC-based setup, such as the HTC Vive or now-discontinued Oculus Rift S.

With The Meta Quest 2, you’ll be able to walk inside virtual gaming worlds, watch 360-degree videos, and access apps for all genres. This is a truly immersive VR gadget.

The VR headset lets you play Resident Evil 4 VR. You can also play Microsoft Flight Simulator on it. Since it’s a standalone headset, VR is an easily accessible way into such fantasy.

Compared to its predecessor, the $299 Oculus Quest 2 has a sleeker and more intuitive design, as well as enhanced performance and a higher display resolution. 

Although the Oculus Quest 2 isn’t perfect, there are a few drawbacks. We would recommend Oculus Quest 2 until the Oculus Quest 3 arrives.

Oculus Quest 2: Price and availability

The Oculus Quest 2 currently costs $299 in the U.S. and £299 in the U.K. for the 128 GB unit. 

We recommend you pay a little bit more to get the 256GB version; it will cost $399 or £399 but will hold more VR games and apps.

Although it is not cheap, it represents excellent value considering that it is a contained experience and does not require a PC, console, or even an extra screen.

Compared to the PlayStation VR (including VR controllers), it provides superior tracking, better display quality, and doesn’t require any additional hardware.

Although the official Oculus Link cable is exceptionally pricey, considering what it can do, if you consider what it does, it would be worth it. 

We like its length of five meters, but it costs $79.99. Oculus recommends this Anker cable as a cheaper alternative, and we haven’t encountered any problems with it.

Oculus Quest 2: Design

The design of the Oculus Quest 2 headset is quite sleek for a virtual reality headset. The headset has a simple strap and four camera sensors that give it a very clean and simple look that goes well sitting on a desk or mounted on your head. Moreover, Quest 2’s light gray color is very eye-catching.

Default head straps don’t provide the most secure fit, and the strap can shift if you move your head quickly or sharply. Alternatively, A Quest 2 Elite Strap can replace it, providing a more secure fit and ratcheting wheel that securely locks in place the strap.

An intuitive arrangement of the headset’s buttons and ports helps keep its seamless design. Power and volume controls are found on the right, as well as a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left.

By pinching or spreading out the lenses on the Oculus Quest 2, you can adjust the spacing with three different viewing settings.

Oculus Quest 2 weighs 17.7 ounces and measures 7.5 x 4 x 5.2 inches, making it a comfortable VR headset even after spending many hours in VR.

The headset’s generous padding made it easy to forget you had a chunk of plastic strapped to your face, while its adjustable elastic bands made it easy to find the right fit.

There might be a risk of you getting a funny red indentation on your forehead after playing Oculus Quest 2 for an extended period of time. Make sure your headset isn’t too tight before you start playing.

Read this guide from Tomsguide on how to clean Oculus lenses quickly and safely to keep your viewing experience pristine. Make sure you don’t overuse your Oculus Quest 2 as it could end up injuring you.

Oculus Quest 2: Controllers and Hand tracking 

With the Quest 2, Oculus redesigned the motion controllers as well. They’re still rounded handles with prominent rings on the top so the headset can track their movement, and the triggers still rest comfortably between your index and middle fingers.

The circular control surface at the top of the handle is larger than before, providing a comfortable resting place for your thumb when not using the analog stick or two face buttons.

In addition to feeling thicker in the hand, the controllers are easier to hold securely, and the battery door is less prone to coming off during long gameplay sessions. It’s just a few small changes that make the controllers feel better without altering their layout or functionality.

Quest 2 can also be operated with your bare hands. With hand tracking, the headset uses cameras to track and measure the size, shape, and orientation of your hands.

The feature allows you to control the in-system pointer by moving your hands-free in front of the headset.

It’s a good feature, but most apps require controllers to use it. The Quest 2’s menu system can be navigated using your hands, but it prompts you to use the controllers when launching Netflix or YouTube VR.

It’s a little disappointing that the Touch Controllers require AA batteries, and cannot be recharged via USB. The controllers use only one battery. A single controller battery is expected to provide around 30 hours of play.

Oculus Quest 2: Hardware

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 has been replaced by the Snapdragon XR2, which is derived from Snapdragon 865. With its $300 price, the Quest 2 is the most affordable Snapdragon 865 device in North America by far (phones with the same chip sell for around $1,000). 

Additionally, the display has been greatly improved. With the update, each eye will now see a 1,920 x 1,832 pixel image, up from 1,600 x 1,440. 

All standalone VR headsets suffer from limited battery life, which is a major problem. The company estimates two to three hours of use per charge, about the same as the original.

Adding on the Quest 2 Elite Strap with Battery and Carrying Case will double the time with a built-in battery pack, a version of the aforementioned accessory strap. It isn’t cheap, but it isn’t that expensive if you really want to play for a long time.

Oculus Quest 2: Getting set up

Oculus Quest 2 is an all-in-one VR headset that doesn’t require you to set up external sensors or cameras – all you need is right inside the headset. It takes only a few minutes to set up the headset, activates your account using the Oculus mobile app, set up your play area, and you’re ready to go.

This new Oculus Quest 2 uses Oculus’ Guardian system to avoid tripping over walls and furniture. Setting up Guardian space is as simple as virtually painting thanks to the headset’s Passthrough+ cameras.

If you leave your Guardian boundary, the headset automatically switches to Passthrough mode, so you can view whatever is around you. You can also toggle Passthrough mode with a quick tap on the headset, which comes in handy when you want to check in on the real world every so often.

For room-scale VR, Oculus recommends a space of 6.5 x 6.5 feet so you can freely move around a virtual space.

Have limited space? Keeping a fixed boundary while using the Oculus Quest 2 while sitting or standing. It’s possible to connect your Oculus Quest 2 to a TV if the room has a TV. A Facebook account is required to use Oculus Quest 2.

Oculus Quest 2: Upgrades

With the latest v28 update, Facebook has pushed out some major upgrades to the Oculus Quest 2. You can add a virtual desk on top of an existing desk to mimic its position in reality inside the Oculus Home VR environment.

And the Quest 2 supports Bluetooth keyboards. However, there are two significant changes. As part of the first update, the refresh rate will increase from 90Hz to 120Hz. The feature will only work with compatible apps but should enhance the user experience.

Using Air Link, you can also connect to an external gaming PC wirelessly. Currently, Air Link works with the Oculus PC app and can be used to stream games without the Oculus Link cable in an “Experimental” beta mode. 

For the best experience, you’ll need a strong Wi-Fi connection. The Link cable is therefore still a better choice for people with slow internet connections. 

Oculus Quest 2: Performance  

Its performance has been boosted over its predecessor thanks to the use of a Snapdragon XR2 chip. As the Quest 2 comes loaded with 6GB of RAM, it is an upgrade over the original Quest, which was powered by a Snapdragon 835 CPU, a chipset specifically designed for smartphones rather than VR headsets. 

Due to this, the Oculus Quest 2 runs very smoothly compared to the older VR headset, making it possible to navigate through menus smoothly and quickly.

It ran smoothly and looked crisp and clear when playing Pistol Whip, and Vader Immortal. We found that the Quest 2 performed well as a PCVR headset, but we noticed a slight lag when wirelessly playing Beat Saber.

We did not experience this when we used a cable, and we could also play for about six hours while the PC was charging the headphones. However, I wouldn’t compare them to what you’d find in an Xbox Series X or PS5, let alone a powerful gaming PC.

Yet I was completely immersed in the action as each title was filled with color and detail. The VR experience is seamless and you won’t experience crashes or framerate dips.

If you wish, with some apps you can use the headset’s hand-tracking feature, but it’s not an upgrade over the controllers, and pinching onscreen objects feels unnaturally awkward.

The Quest 2 doesn’t claim to be 4K, but its native apps display sharp graphics without stuttering or slowing down. There is no trailing wire, so it is easier to turn around without getting tangled. Our battery lasted between two and three hours. Charge the Quest 2 while wearing it if you’ve purchased a longer cable.

The Quest 2 acts as a PCVR headset when connected to a PC via the Oculus Link cable (preferably connected to a USB 3.0 port) or via the experimental wireless Air Link feature. As a result, your PC will do most of the heavy lifting, so make sure your machine can run the game or application. 

Check Oculus Quest 2 Price On Amazon

Oculus Quest 2: Software

All Oculus Quest 2 apps will work on Quest 2, and for the time being any new applications will be backward compatible with the original Quest 2 as well.

However, Facebook acknowledges that this may change over time as developers gain more experience with the new model’s improved specs, but for now, the first-gen edition won’t be left out of upcoming experiences.

Therefore, Oculus Quest 2 already has hundreds of games and apps available, as well as some new ones. In that regard, it is an iterative upgrade – much like upgrading from one iPhone generation to the next, with regards to continued app support.

In addition to future-proofing, the new system has numerous benefits over its predecessor. In 90Hz apps, the resolution is noticeably sharper, and the system and menus feel dramatically more responsive than even the snappy earlier edition. 

This last change is perhaps the most exciting – developers can now make existing titles run at 90Hz if they choose to. In practice, it’s a significant improvement.

Oculus Quest 2: Games 

The Oculus Quest 2 platform has amassed a wide variety of titles, from fresh takes on AAA franchises to exciting indie titles that make full use of VR.

My favorite games were Beat Saber, a rhythm slasher, and Superhot VR, an immersive shooting game where I shot bullets at my enemies while controlling time.

You may be grown up watching Star Wars, then you will absolutely adore Vader Immortal. It was a first-person action-adventure game that will have you sneaking around imperial strongholds and engaging intense lightsaber combat.

Additionally, you will love Pistol Whip, an arcade shooter that will have you catching headshots and dodging enemy fire to pulsating EDM music. 

A great example of the fusion is Polyarc’s Moss, which combines traditional controller-based platforming with deep VR interactivity while allowing you to control an adorable mouse with your joysticks. Mercenaries mode will be added to Resident Evil 4 VR as free DLC in 2022.

In addition to its competitive features, the Quest 2 is an excellent multiplayer machine, allowing you to gather with friends virtually when it is so hard to do so in person. It was hilarious and fun to beat up bad guys with a friend in the VR brawler Path of the Warrior.

Eleven: Table Tennis VR will also translate your bad table tennis skills to the virtual world nicely. With the Oculus Link cable, you can expand the Oculus Quest 2’s game library even more with titles such as Half-Life: Alyx, Star Wars Squadrons, and Fallout 4 VR.

While some of the best VR games aren’t available out of the box on Quest 2, the Oculus Link effectively turns your Quest into an Oculus Rift for a little less than the Rift’s $399 asking price. 

Oculus Quest 2: Apps 

In addition to gaming technology, the Oculus Quest 2 offers entertainment and productivity apps that let you watch videos and collaborate with others. 

Spatial grants users the opportunity to collaborate on documents and 3D models in a virtual workspace that is impressively robust. In addition, you will be able to use my Windows 10 PC in a virtual reality environment via the Virtual Desktop application. 

Oculus Quest 2: Audio 

Even though the Oculus Quest 2’s built-in positional audio is not new – it appeared on the Quest and Rift S as well – it will blow your mind every time you use it. With its built-in speakers, the headset produces loud, clear sound without the need for headphones. Directionality is also impressive.

The Oculus Quest 2 has a handy 3.5mm jack for connecting any headphones you like for even more immersive audio. Even more appealing is the headset’s built-in audio, which feels like magic and further adds to its ease of use.

Oculus Quest 2: Battery life 

In terms of battery life, the Oculus Quest 2 offers up to 3 hours if you mostly watch videos and 2 if you play games. The Quest 2 had a relatively low energy consumption.

Oculus Quest 2: Accessories

The Oculus Quest 2’s accessories are now available now that it has been out for a while. We have compiled a list of all the best Oculus Quest 2 accessories, so be sure to check it out.

The Oculus Quest Elite Strap with Battery is one of the accessories you should definitely consider right away. This head strap is much more flexible, making it ideal for people with longer or thicker hair. 

Oculus Quest 2: Verdict

With the Oculus Quest 2, you no longer need a powerful PC or a ton of wires and sensors to experience virtual reality.

The improved performance and design of the Oculus Quest 2 might not convince you to shell out another $299 if you already own an Oculus Quest. 

A 256GB model and Oculus Link cable make the new headset quite costly. If you haven’t yet experienced virtual reality or want to go untethered, the Oculus Quest 2’s price, game library, and overall ease of use make it an ideal entry point for VR.

The Oculus Quest 2 is well worth purchasing unless you need a top-range VR headset. The performance is impressive, and you can immerse yourself in a virtual world without worrying about wires. I can assure you that the Oculus Quest 2 will not disappoint. 

Check Oculus Quest 2 Price On Amazon