The Oculus Quest is a
virtual reality (VR) headset developed by
Oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following
Architecture
* Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...
, a division of
Meta, Inc., released on May 21, 2019.
Similar to its predecessor,
Oculus Go
The Oculus Go is a standalone virtual reality headset developed by Facebook Technologies in partnership with Qualcomm and Xiaomi. It is in the first generation of Facebook Technologies' virtual reality headsets, and the company's first device in ...
, it is a standalone device that can run games and software wirelessly under an
Android-based operating system. It supports
positional tracking
In virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), a pose tracking system detects the precise pose of head-mounted displays, controllers, other objects or body parts within Euclidean space. Pose tracking is often referred to as 6DOF tracking, for ...
with
six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom (6DOF) refers to the six mechanical degrees of freedom of movement of a rigid body in three-dimensional space. Specifically, the body is free to change position as forward/backward (surge), up/down (heave), left/right ...
, using internal sensors and an array of cameras in the front of the headset rather than external sensors. The cameras are also used as part of the safety feature "Passthrough", which shows a view from the cameras when the user exits their designated boundary area. A later software update added "Oculus Link", a feature that allows the Quest to be connected to a computer via
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
, enabling use with
Oculus Rift
Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016.
In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
-compatible software and games.
The Oculus Quest received praise for its price and convenience, and for having improved graphical fidelity and tracking over Oculus Go, but was panned for its front-heavy build and downgraded graphics quality over PC-based VR games. At launch, it also faced criticism for being limited to software available on the Oculus Store, and not having backwards compatibility with Oculus Go software. The later introduction of Oculus Link led to reappraisals of the Quest, with critics praising the device's increased flexibility, and indicating that devices like the Quest would likely supplant the PC-only Rift headsets moving forward. A successor, the
Oculus Quest 2
Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13.
As with its predecessor, the Oculus Qu ...
, was released in 2020.
History
At Oculus Connect 3 in 2016, Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...
revealed that Oculus was working on a standalone virtual reality headset codenamed "Santa Cruz".
At Oculus Connect 4 the following year, it was announced that Oculus planned to issue
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...
s for the new model in 2018. They also revealed the accompanying controllers, which would be similar to the Oculus Rift's touch controllers.
In 2018 at Connect 5, it was announced that the new headset would be known as the Oculus Quest and would be priced at US$399. At
F8 2019 it was announced that the Quest would ship on May 21, 2019.
At launch, the device was priced at US$399 for the 64
GB version, and US$499 for the 128 GB version.
A successor model, the
Oculus Quest 2
Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13.
As with its predecessor, the Oculus Qu ...
, was announced on September 16, 2020. It was released on October 13 starting at $299 for the 64GB version and $399 for the 128 GB version.
Specifications
The Oculus Quest uses a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
system-on-chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memor ...
(SoC) with 4 GB of RAM. Three of the four 2.3 GHz CPU cores of the chip are reserved for software, while the remaining core and its four lower-power cores are reserved for motion tracking and other background functions.
It runs an
Android-based operating system, with modifications to enhance performance in VR applications.
A
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
running the Oculus app is required in order to conduct first-time setup.
A diamond
Pentile PenTile matrix is a family of patented subpixel matrix schemes used in electronic device displays. PenTile is a trademark of Samsung. PenTile matrices are used in AMOLED and LCD displays.
These subpixel layouts are specifically designed to opera ...
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
display is used for each eye, with an individual resolution of 1440 × 1600 and a refresh rate of 72 Hz.
The headset uses the "next generation" lens technology originally introduced in Oculus Go, which helps to enlarge the sweet spot of the lens. Visual artifacts such as
God rays
A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sun ...
are less prominent but still visible in scenes with high contrast.
It also features physical
interpupillary distance
Pupillary distance (PD) or interpupillary distance (IPD) is the distance measured in millimeters between the centers of the pupils of the eyes. This measurement is different from person to person and also depends on whether they are looking at near ...
(IPD) adjustment.
Tracking
Unlike the Oculus Go, which used a limited handheld remote that only supported limited motion tracking, the Quest supports
positional tracking
In virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), a pose tracking system detects the precise pose of head-mounted displays, controllers, other objects or body parts within Euclidean space. Pose tracking is often referred to as 6DOF tracking, for ...
with
six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom (6DOF) refers to the six mechanical degrees of freedom of movement of a rigid body in three-dimensional space. Specifically, the body is free to change position as forward/backward (surge), up/down (heave), left/right ...
(compared to the Go's three).
Rather than use external sensor cameras in the play area to spatially track the headset and controllers (as was the case with the original
Oculus Rift CV1
Oculus Rift CV1, also known simply as Oculus Rift, is a virtual reality headset developed by Oculus VR, a subsidiary of Facebook, Inc. It was announced in January 2016, and released in March the same year. The device constituted the first commer ...
), Oculus Quest utilizes an "inside-out" tracking system known as "Oculus Insight". Based on the concept of
simultaneous localization and mapping
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is the computational problem of constructing or updating a map of an unknown environment while simultaneously keeping track of an agent's location within it. While this initially appears to be a chi ...
(SLAM), infrared diodes on the Oculus Touch controllers are tracked via four wide-angle cameras built into the front of the headset. This is combined with
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...
input from the controllers and headset, as well as
AI algorithms to predict the path of motion when the controllers are outside of the cameras' field of view.
The cameras are also used as part of a safety feature known as "Passthrough", which displays a
grayscale
In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysc ...
view from the cameras when the player exits their defined playing area.
At Oculus Connect 6, it was announced that the feature would be upgraded to "Passthrough+" as on the
Oculus Rift S
The Oculus Rift S is a virtual reality headset co-developed by Lenovo Technologies and Facebook Technologies—a division of Meta Platforms.
Announced in March 2019 and released that May, it is a successor to the original Oculus Rift CV1 mode ...
(which also uses Insight), making it stereoscopic and stereo-correct.
A "Passthrough on Demand" feature was added in Quest system software version 15, allowing the user to quickly access the Passthrough view by double-tapping the left or right side of the headset.
Hand tracking
During Oculus Connect 6, it was announced that hand tracking would be added to the Quest in early-2020, utilizing machine learning, Oculus Insight, and "model-based tracking" to recognize the position and gesture of the user's hands without additional hardware.
Hand tracking was initially introduced as an experimental feature in December 2019, as part of Quest system software version 12. It was limited to the main user interface and selected built-in apps, such as the web browser. It was also announced that the Oculus Quest SDK would be updated to add support for the feature.
In May 2020, hand tracking exited beta, and became available for use in third-party software beginning May 28.
Controllers
![Second generation Oculus Touch controllers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Second_generation_Oculus_Touch_controllers.jpg)
The Oculus Quest uses second generation
Oculus Touch
Oculus Touch is the motion controller system used by Reality Labs in their Rift CV, Rift S, Quest, and Quest 2 virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to giv ...
controllers. Their designs were modified to accommodate Oculus Insight, with their tracking rings moved from the back of the controllers to their tops so that they can be tracked by the headset's cameras.
Audio
The Quest has embedded speakers, as well as a pair of
3.5 mm audio jack
A phone connector, also known as phone jack, audio jack, headphone jack or jack plug, is a family of electrical connectors typically used for analog signal, analog audio signals. A plug, the Gender of connectors and fasteners, male connect ...
s on each side for use with external headphones.
Accessories
Though the Oculus Quest has built-in audio, it is possible to purchase official in-ear headphones from Facebook. There is also an official travel case.
Following the release of the Oculus Link feature, Facebook released an official -long
USB-C
USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...
cable designed for use with the feature.
As the reliability of non-powered USB cables with
copper-based wires diminishes at , the cable is
fiber optic
An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...
instead.
Software
Facebook enforces stricter content and quality standards for software distributed on Oculus Quest in comparison to Oculus Go and Gear VR, including requiring developers to undergo a pre-screening of their concepts to demonstrate "quality and probable market success". In 2021, Facebook introduced "App Lab", a new section within the storefront allowing developers to upload and distribute Quest apps without going through the formal review process. App Lab is designed primarily to support
early access
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
models, and can support public and invite-based distribution.
Facebook launched the headset with over 50 titles consisting of a mix of new and ported games,
including titles such as ''
Beat Saber
''Beat Saber'' is a virtual reality rhythm game developed and published by Czech game developer Beat Games. It takes place in a surrealistic neon environment and features the player slicing blocks representing musical beats with a pair of cont ...
'', ''
Moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
,'' ''
Robo Recall
''Robo Recall'' is a virtual reality first-person shooter game developed and published by Epic Games for Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest platforms. The game was released for the Oculus Rift on March 1, 2017, and an Oculus Quest version titled ''Robo ...
,
Superhot VR
''Superhot'' is an independent first-person shooter (FPS) video game developed and published by Superhot Team. Though the game follows traditional first-person shooter gameplay mechanics, with the player attempting to take out enemy targets usi ...
,'' and ''
VRChat
''VRChat'' is an online virtual world platform created by Graham Gaylor and Jesse Joudrey and operated by VRChat, Inc. The platform allows users to interact with others with user-created 3D avatars and worlds. ''VRChat'' is designed primarily f ...
''.
Some games support
cross-play with their PC versions.
At Oculus Connect 6 in September 2019, it was announced that
backward compatibility
Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especiall ...
with over 50 Oculus Go applications and games would be added to the Quest. In addition, users who had purchased Oculus Go apps would be eligible to download Oculus Quest-specific versions of them for free through the end of 2019.
Use with PC software
At Oculus Connect 6, Facebook announced Oculus Link, a function which allows the Quest to be used with Oculus Rift-compatible software on a PC over
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
.
It became available in beta on November 12, 2019, as part of system software version 11.
Initially, Link only supported
USB 3.0
USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. Among other improvements, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer rate referred to as '' ...
connections. In May 2020, support for
USB 2.0
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
was added, although Facebook still recommends use of USB 3.0 cables.
On June 13, 2021, Zuckerberg stated that Oculus Air Link, a feature from the Quest 2 that allows Link to be used over a local
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
connection, was coming soon to the original Quest.
Reception
Scott Stein of ''
CNET
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
'' considered the Quest to be "improbably amazing for its size and $399 price tag", and compared it to
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
in terms of convenience. Stein praised its camera system and motion controls, and its graphics quality for being nearer to PC-quality than Oculus Go (albeit still limited in detail due to its use of mobile computing hardware). The Quest was panned for being a
closed platform
A closed platform, walled garden, or closed ecosystem is a software system wherein the carrier or service provider has control over applications, content, and/or media, and restricts convenient access to non-approved applicants or content. This ...
at launch — with software limited to the Oculus Store, and not being backwards compatible with software released for Oculus Go. Adi Robertson of ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' shared similar opinions, noting that the Quest was heavier and not as comfortable as Rift S, and that its launch titles were not at the same caliber as the PC Oculus Rift in terms of size or graphical fidelity, but that the Quest still included a physical IPD slider unlike the Rift S.
In May 2020, ''The Verge'' acknowledged that the Quest had improved since its launch to become "the closest thing that exists to a sleek, almost mainstream VR headset", citing an expanding software library, and the ability to use the headset with a PC over USB via the Oculus Link feature (and over Wi-Fi using the
sideloaded third-party software
Virtual Desktop
In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical limits of the s ...
, which was not "noticeably worse" than doing so over USB in their experience). It was argued that the Quest "works so well by itself that it's a great system in its own right", while Oculus Link allowed it to double as a "credible" PC VR headset as well. Again, it was noted that the Rift S was less front-heavy and that its display "trades contrast for slightly higher resolution and refresh rate" — but that neither it or the
Valve Index
The Valve Index is a consumer virtual reality headset created and manufactured by Valve. Announced on April 30, 2019, the headset was released on June 28 of the same year. The Index is a second-generation headset and the first to be manufacture ...
"works as a perfectly good standalone wireless VR headset" like Oculus Quest. ''
VentureBeat
''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos.
History
The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, a ...
'' felt that Oculus was likely "setting the stage" for discontinuing the Rift line in favor of Quest, arguing "if Link performs as expected, most users will have little to no idea of what they're missing — Rift S' extra camera, FPS, and resolution differences won't matter much."
Sales
Two weeks after launch, Oculus announced that it had sold $5 million worth of content for the Oculus Quest.
At Oculus Connect 6, it was announced that the Quest had created over 20% of the generated revenue from all platforms at Oculus, totaling at $20 million.
It was also reported during the same event that the Quest has by far the highest retention rate of all their headsets.
317,000 units were sold over the 4th quarter of 2019, and was sold out at times.
References
External links
*
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Products introduced in 2019
Virtual reality headsets
American inventions
Gaming devices