The Stuff team often finds itself embroiled in painfully long sieges regarding possession of the office Oculus Quest. It’s arguably the best and most advanced VR headset on the market and because we only have one floating about the place, we’ve been known to have the occasional Mortal Kombat tournament to see who gets to keep the device over a long weekend. Yet if rumours are to be believed, it will soon be easier to share the Quest. Facebook is apparently developing an updated version of the device.
Based on a report by Bloomberg, a second iteration of the Oculus Quest is in development. This second generation will try to solve some issues users had with the original Quest, notably the significant weight and size of the headset. The Quest is cumbersome to wear over long periods, given that it functions as its own console for VR games, no connection to a PC required. Of course, that resulted in a headset that was more than a little strenuous on the neck.
While the final updated design hasn’t been approved yet, prototypes of the new model reportedly weigh about 100g less than the original while being roughly 15% smaller. The other improvement mentioned is an enhancement to the built-in screen’s refresh rate, upgrading it from 60Hz to 90Hz or even 120Hz. Other design changes to the devices controller are seemingly underway too, in a bid to improve how comfortable they are to hold for long periods.
There’s no word yet on when we can expect an official announcement but Bloomberg did cite its sources hinting that Facebook plans to unveil the device towards the end of the year. Maybe. Given the worldwide pandemic causing issues with distribution and manufacturing, this may no longer be the case.
