The Upgrade
Oculus Quest Is VR for Normal People
The $399 headset is worth the splurge
I’m in a cage of my own making. I drew the boundaries, and now a glowing aqua ring surrounds me and rises into infinity.
This virtual cage — or “Guardian” — is part of the Oculus Quest’s new boundary system. It’s designed to keep me from walking into walls and furniture while I explore new worlds with Facebook’s standalone virtual reality headset, which is out next month and costs $399.
The Quest is a standalone Oculus, meaning it requires no external tracking system for positional awareness of your head, hands, and body. It’s more powerful than the Oculus Go ($199) and comes with a pair of Oculus Touch controllers, just like those you’d use with a full Oculus Rift setup.
Oculus Quest definitely raises the bar.
The Quest launches alongside a new Rift S system, also $399, but like previous virtual reality setups, it requires a reasonably powerful PC to run. While the Quest is a step below the Rift S in terms of image and content quality, it’s clearly a next-level VR experience compared to previous standalone headsets. It could go a long way toward converting skeptics who haven’t had the opportunity to try “full” VR with motion controls. If you’re…
