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November 1st, 2021

Meta Quest 2 Review 2022 (The Future of VR is Here)

Anime Girl Wearing VR Headset

The Verdict

The Meta Quest 2 provides a mind-blowing, immersive VR experience that’ll make you forget you’re in reality. With it’s crystal clear visuals and high refresh rate, it is a must-have entry into VR.

What You Can do on the Meta Quest 2:

Unlike flatscreen gaming where you’re pressing buttons on a mouse and keyboard, the Quest 2 VR experience will have you jumping around, swinging your arms wildly, and showing off to your friends about how cool it is. It’ll also make the perfect Christmas gift :)

#1 Gaming

Gaming is main reason why people gravitate towards VR. You don’t need a gaming PC to use the Meta Quest 2, unlike other headsets. You just put on the headset and BAM! You’re in a spaceship, or a boxing ring, or Pokemon’s Pallet Town.

#2 Connecting/Socializing with People

I love being able to go to the cinemas and watch movies together with my friends/family. I also love going fishing with them after a long tiresome day at work. With the music and beautiful environments, it’s the most relaxing experience ever!

Other people love hanging out in VRChat – doing dance classes, exploring different worlds or learning to speak a new language.

And others may enjoy games like Dance Central – where you’re in a nightclub!

#3 Education

Although this is a field that’s still developing, we’re seeing more and more educational apps in VR.

My favorite experience was learning how to drive in VR – I didn’t have a driver’s license and getting this exposure greatly boosted my confidence.

Also having teachers in VR is a pretty cool experience.

VR Teacher

#4 360° Videos

Instead of watching Elton John’s piano concert on a flat 2D screen, you can watch live in person. There are some amazing concerts in VR!  You can also watch 3D movies.

#5 Interactive Plays

Imagine being in a play where real actors talk/interact with you and ask you to act out some of the scenes!

#6 Fitness!

People are surprised to hear this, but VR is one of the best options for home fitness! Many people (myself included) have replaced their gym memberships with VR fitness! Who doesn’t love playing games and being able to exercise? The Meta Quest 2 is the best headset for fitness, being completely standalone and wireless.

Weight Loss Hacks

Meta Quest 2 Specs:

  • Resolution: 1832 x 1920 per eye (3664 x 1920 total)
  • Display panel: LCD
  • FOV: 90°
  • Refresh Rate: 90 Hz (120 Hz experimental)
  • Storage: 128 or 256 GB
  • Battery life: 2-2.5 hours

Meta Quest 2 vs. Oculus Quest 2

Due to Facebook’s rebranding into Meta, the Oculus Quest 2 is now called the Meta Quest 2. They’re the same headset with zero differences apart from the name.

Meta Quest 2 vs. Other Headsets

The Meta Quest 2 has several distinct advantages over every other headset:

  1. Standalone wireless: It’s the only headset where you don’t need a powerful PC to play.
  2. Price: It’s got insane value for it’s pricing. You essentially have a 300 USD headset that’s close to being as good as $1,000+ headsets!
  3. Easy to set up: Even tech-illiterate people will have no problem with the device, unlike other headsets which require you to be tech-savvy.
  4. Oculus/Meta exclusive games: The Quest can play all VR games except Playstation (PSVR) ones. But it also has access to Oculus exclusive games like Resident Evil 4 which other headsets don’t have.

Wireless

I cannot stress how important wireless is in VR.

Having cables dangling from your head is immersion breaking and can lead to all sorts of accidents.

Every time you want to use VR, you’ll have to set it up by connecting it to your PC and launching some software which is a huge inconvenience.

For these reasons, I actually use my Quest 2 more than my HTC Vive Pro 2, a $1,500 headset!

These expensive headsets have their purpose though, which I’ll get to later, but just know the Quest 2 is easily compareable to these high end headsets.

Comfort

Meta Quest 2 (modded)

Okay, here’s where people tend to get confused.

The Oculus Quest 2 is one of the most uncomfortable headsets…

BUT…

If you buy some comfort mods for it, the Quest 2 actually becomes the most comfortable headset on the market. This is due to the fact that it’s the lightest headset on the market.

The above picture shows the two mods which I use: softer face padding at the front, and a better strap. Both these mods will cost around $50-$70.

Resolution

The Quest 2’s resolution is “almost” 4K.

It has a resolution of 1832×1920 per eye (3664 x 1920 total).

This is a pretty high resolution, though it is not the highest.

The image quality will look beautiful, you’ll be able to read text clearly and most importantly, you won’t be able to see the individual pixels on the screen even though the screen is close to your eyes.

I’m sure you’ll be happy with the Quest 2’s resolution, but for those interested, here’s a comparison to other headsets:

Headset Resolution (per eye)
Oculus Quest 2 1832×1920
Valve Index 1440 x 1600
HP Reverb G2 2160 x 2160
HTC Vive Pro 2 2488 x 2488
Pimax 8K X 3840 x 2160

I’ve only included the top headsets here. These all cost $1000-$1800 (except the HP Reverb G2)

So if you’re willing to pay a premium price, you can end up with better resolution.

Tracking

Unlike other headsets, you don’t need to set up external sensors on your walls in order to play VR.

The Quest 2 has in-built cameras which will track your movements for you and can save a lot of hassle from setting up and troubleshooting. This is known as inside-out tracking.

The Quest 2’s tracking is extremely accurate. It’s the best inside-out tracking available on the market and can track your movements to nearly 100% accuracy.

Although Valve’s Lighthouse Tracking is slightly move accurate, we’re talking about comparing a 99% accuracy to 98% – it’s not a big difference. Also Valve’s tracking requires setting up external sensors on your walls.

Full-Body Tracking

The one downside of the Quest 2 is, there isn’t much full-body tracking support yet.

There are new options that allow you to use your webcam to track your body movements, but those are still in development.

There are two main uses for full-body tracking:

  1. VRChat, allowing you to kick and dance around.
  2. Streaming: So viewers can see your VR avatars.

Currently, there aren’t many apps that support full-body tracking, but if you fall into one of these two categories, you might want to consider a headset with external tracking.

FOV

FOV stands for field of view. It basically means how far you can see:

FOV Comparison

Having a higher FOV can enhance your immersion levels.

The Quest 2’s FOV is 90° which I would say is pretty average for VR standards.

Unfortunately, you would have to pay a premium to get a higher FOV. Only the “thousand dollar headsets” allow you to get a significantly higher FOV, for instance, the Valve Index has an FOV of 130°.

Is it worth it?

For most people: Nope.

These headsets require very powerful computers which most people can’t afford. On top of that, they require you to be tethered to your PC which can lower the immersion… Not to mention they require a lot of tinkering with the settings in order for some games to run smoothly.

If you’re new to VR, just stick with the Quest 2.

Audio & Mic

For such a cheap headset, the audio is quite amazing. It’s loud, crisp and clear. You can tell exactly where the direction of the sound is coming from which is important for immersion.

The microphone is also pretty decent. It’s not a studio quality microphone, but it does the job.

I gotta say, in terms of audio and mic quality, the Meta Quest beats some of the high-end headsets here.

There is a 3.5mm jack that allows you to use your own headphones too.

Overall TL;DR

Even with these downsides, being tethered to your PC can be a deal-breaker. It’s hard to set up, takes more time and can break immersion. Worst case scenario: the wires can lead to accidents.

The Meta Quest 2 is cheap, wireless and compareable to the top high-end headsets in terms of specs (resolution and FOV).

Since Black Friday deals are going on right now, I highly recommend you pick one up, it comes with $50 free game credit! Black Friday Quest 2 Deal (only lasts until the 28th)

If you’re a streamer or want to use full-body tracking, then I recommend the HTC Vive Pro 2 or Pimax 8K X.

But for the rest of us, especially beginners to VR, the Quest 2 is the best option.

See you all in the metaverse!

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

#1 What’s the difference between an Oculus Quest 2 and Meta Quest 2?

There’s no difference. The Meta Quest 2 is just a rebrand (name change) of the Oculus Quest 2, they’re literally the same headset.

#2 Will VR make me dizzy?

This depends on the game. There are games that don’t cause motion sickness at all, and games that might cause motion sickness.

For example, almost no-one ever gets motion sickness from Beat Saber, one of the most popular games in VR.

In games where there is artificial motion (where you have to move by pressing the controller) – these are more likely to cause sickness. Luckily, most people get used to it over time, but even if you don’t, there are a decent amount of games that don’t include artificial motion.

#3 How much space do I need for the Meta Quest 2?

This depends on the game/app. Many apps allow you to have a stationary mode where you don’t need any space at all.

Most games require 2m x 2m space (ideally 2.5m x 2.5m).

#4 Is the Meta Quest 2 worth it if I don’t have a powerful gaming PC?

The reason why people buy the Quest 2 is because they don’t have a powerful PC. There are plenty of games on the Oculus library!

Check out this search engine to find the best Meta Quest 2 games.

#5 Should I get the 128 GB or 256 GB version?

For most people, the 128 GB version is enough. Read more about file sizes here.

#6 Should I buy the Elite Strap or Fit Pack?

There are cheaper and better third party comfort mods. Here are the recommended comfort mods.