7 ms·

The Oculus Quest 2

45 points by fasicle 6y ago

pcdoodle 6y ago
I miss being excited about VR tech. I used to run a CRT/Shutter glasses setup back in the day for racing games. Now that big tech has moved in, my interest in trying it again, has waned.
- DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
  I share your sentiment. Back in the 1970s (when I was a kid) through the 1990s, getting a new piece of hi-tech gear was just plain fun. Modern hardware is even more awesome, but it seems like almost every product that interests me is tarnished by manufacturers hell-bent on recurring revenue streams, or gathering as much of my personal information as possible to increase their profits. I make a living as a software developer, but I'm coming to hate so much about modern technology. It reminds me of a line from the movie Sneakers [0], where some anonymous corporate programmer says to another, "Remember when computers used to be fun?" (Or something like that. I saw the movie 25 years ago.) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film)
  - jnwatson 6y ago
    I dunno. Valve makes good VR gear, and they aren't in the business of selling personal information.
    - DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
      I agree that the Valve Index seems to be an outlier. I misspoke when I said "every" in my earlier post. I'm actually thinking to get one for my family this Christmas. (I'm in the queue for ordering.)
    - deathtrader666 6y ago
      How does Valve's VR gear rank in user experience?
      - Ruthalas 6y ago
        I've had the opportunity to use headsets from both companies, and own a Vive. Oculus' devices seem generally a bit lighter and more comfortable, and Valve/HTC's devices tend to be a bit heavier, but with more focus on high-end performance. This varies across their product lines of course, but I think it's fair to say both are strong contenders for good consumer VR products, albeit with different primary focuses.
      - jnwatson 6y ago
        The advantage and disadvantage of Valve's VR is entirely that it is tethered to a PC (at least wirelessly if you have the wireless module) and the PC ecosystem. That means you can take advantage of your existing Steam investment, Steam sales, and interface. The disadvantage is that maintaining a gaming PC seems daunting for some folks. Also, you have to figure out how to get cables from your PC to an empty space that is wired for VR. That can be a logistics problem if your gaming PC isn't near your living space.
- chme 6y ago
  What I really find sad it that most consumer electronic products now require some sort of account and/or internet service integration. Before you could just buy some hardware and actually own it and use it directly however you like, nowadays you very often need some vendor website or external service just to get it running. Very annoying and complicated.
jimmySixDOF 6y ago
They have removed the video teaser already but there is some more detail here : Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 leaks in full via official promo videos A full launch of the headset is rumored for later this week https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/9/14/21435891/oculus-quest-2-leaked-promotional-video-specs-features-qualcomm-xr-2-platform-6gb-ram-4k-display https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/9/14/21435891/ocu...
- mark_l_watson 6y ago
  Thanks, that was good to read. I love my Oculus Quest. I used to work in the VR industry over 20 years ago (work for SAIC, Disney via Angel Studios). When I bought a Quest, I felt like quality consumer VR had arrived. My wife thinks the Quest is too heavy/uncomfortable and I would like higher resolution. We will both be happy with the Quest 2 update.
- me_me_me 6y ago
  So you can play wirelessly some stuff with onboard chip and storage? Correct me if I am wrong, but it doesn't seem like you would be able to do much with that. Since VR is such a power hog - say 2x 2K display at at least 70frames with onbard chip?
  - dangoor 6y ago
    I've had an Oculus Quest for the past ~15 months (essentially since it came out). It doesn't have the power for high-end PC levels of detail, but being able to just strap on the headset and start playing is delightful. It works quite well with a variety of games, and the Quest 2 should boost the experience.
  - blensor 6y ago
    Wireless is really the key here. For wired VR there are actually add on programs that give you ingame hints if you twisted the cable too much in one direction so you can correct for it but for movement/fitness focused games that won't really cut it. I am developing an open-source fitness game for the Quest [1] (and other headsets but mainly for the Quest) and being able to just strap on your headset basically anywhere and go at it (don't even need controllers since it uses hand tracking) is such a nice way to play that it balances the lack of visual fidelity quite a lot (it helps that the game is not pretty to look at in the first place ;) ) [1] https://vrworkout.at https://vrworkout.at
grumple 6y ago
Tying this to my non-existent facebook account means I won't even think about buying it. A headset that doesn't constantly feed my data to big tech would be fantastic. Quest 1 is still going strong though (until our 2 year facebook-less amnesty runs up). Great piece of hardware. The biggest problem I see is that there's not been much adoption in terms of creating software from major software companies. I don't think the hardware is a limitation for the current gen. We could do so much more with vr than what we are doing right now.
- ralston3 6y ago
  I obviously agree and loathe the fact that Facebook is now tying the Quest to a FB account. However I enjoy VR too much so I think I’ll just bite the bullet and make a burner FB, covering my tracks as well as I can.
  - MzHN 6y ago
    Until you get locked out because your account looks suspicious. This used to happen to my burner FB account every time I clicked the "developer" link in FB. I would get locked out and they'd ask me to send a scan of my passport. It was possible to get back by re-doing the phone activation, but I could not do any FB social auth development for customers without sending a scan of my passport.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    It’s not like FB is the only one making VR headsets.
    - Robotbeat 6y ago
      None are quite like the Quest, though. It's qualitatively different.
      - grumple 6y ago
        The main difference as far as I'm aware is that it's wireless and doesn't require a computer. It seems there are a few others have already hit the wireless mark. Not needing a computer is a big deal, but doesn't affect me personally (I only use it at home; I still want wireless though).
martythemaniak 6y ago
A lot of people are going to be spending a lot of time indoors this winter, I think this will sell like hotcakes.
vrpronftw 6y ago
I might be wrong but I'm going to guess a large number of VR users will watch VR porn. I personally don't want FB recording that I watch VR porn or what porn I watch.
Someone1234 6y ago
Own a Quest (1), use it nearly daily, and like my Quest. I won't even be looking at the Quest 2 because they now require a Facebook account to use it, and I have absolutely no interesting in that (from a privacy or integrations standpoint). I just want to game in peace. When I purchased my original Quest they were making guarantees that Facebook integrations were going to be optional, only to backtrack two years later.
- scott31 6y ago
  > guarantees that is a weird way to spell `lies`
  - dylan604 6y ago
    more points in Scrabble that way
- diggan 6y ago
  > they were making guarantees Wasn't this a promise from Palmer Luckey as an individual, not a statement from either Oculus or Facebook? As a owner of Oculus, the difference doesn't really matter, it sucks none the less. But I think we're all better off never trusting what individuals nor for-profit companies says as they can always change their mind, especially if it brings them more money.
  - WillPostForFood 6y ago
    “I want to make clear that those promises were approved by Facebook in that moment and on an ongoing basis,” Luckey said, “and I really believed it would continue to be the case for a variety of reasons. In hindsight, the downvotes from people with more real-world experience than me were definitely justified.”
- donohoe 6y ago
  But as you say, they will require that soon for the Quest 1.
tantalor 6y ago
Mods: this is removed, "Content Unavailable"
Robotbeat 6y ago
The higher resolution would be really nice for reading and therefore for non-game applications. If someone ever makes a retina-level (60 pixels per degree) display that's wireless like the Quest but as cheap as a nice monitor and comfortable to wear, then people may just use it in place of a multi-monitor setup. Particularly as the ecosystem evolves and it becomes easier to use mouse and keyboard in VR. (I think Quest just recently added support for tracking of a Bluetooth keyboard so you can see it in VR while you're typing on it.) $300-400 is roughly that price point, which is about where the current Quest is. But even with the upped resolution of the Quest2 (which might bring the pixel density to 20 pixels per degree), we're still about a factor of 10 away from the retina-like clarity that you'd want for reading and doing work in VR. (The highest end VR headsets are about a factor of 5 away from that, in terms of numbers of pixels.) By the way, it's interesting that we're pushing the limits of display bandwidths. Even with lossless compression, it's tough to shoot that many pixels smoothly even to a wired VR headset. We might need wireless headsets like the Quest if only to do some of the heavy-lifting, low-latency processing.
- lostmsu 6y ago
  Pixels per inch do not make sense on a VR headset. The screens are tiny.
  - Robotbeat 6y ago
    oops,sorry, i meant pixels per degree (altho per inch is related to bulkiness of the headset).
gfodor 6y ago
This generation of VR from Facebook (along with the launch of Facebook Horizon) is their first major move towards consolidating control over the next (perhaps final) communication medium, and burning in Facebook's assumptions to it. For example, they believe you ought to always be represented by your legal name, with a physical representation similar to the one you have in real life when communicating remotely through immersive computing. This can be seen being manifested by the slow steady changes to policies and terms. With this generation, Facebook will require a Facebook account, and thus a full chain back to a legal identity for you to communicate with others on their VR platform. Over time they've slowly ratcheted up policies and behavior that are increasingly at odds with the desires of the early adopter enthusiast community. However, these have been done slowly so as to not kill the necessary participation in their ecosystem needed to bootstrap their wider VR platform plays. These developments are deeply troubling and those worried about a future where human interaction is largely surveiled and behavior largely manipulated ought to be mindful before buying into Facebook's ecosystem. I spoke extensively about the dangers here and now that it is coming to fruition it's even more important to understand the implications so consumers can choose wisely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5w8xbeCc2Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5w8xbeCc2Q
jlundberg 6y ago
I really like the friendly feel and the way she talked in this this leaked Oculus Quest 2 promo video. Well made and not at all that pushy like many commercials can be. Informative and to-the-point.

45 points by fasicle 6y ago

I miss being excited about VR tech. I used to run a CRT/Shutter glasses setup back in the day for racing games. Now that big tech has moved in, my interest in trying it again, has waned.

DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
I share your sentiment. Back in the 1970s (when I was a kid) through the 1990s, getting a new piece of hi-tech gear was just plain fun. Modern hardware is even more awesome, but it seems like almost every product that interests me is tarnished by manufacturers hell-bent on recurring revenue streams, or gathering as much of my personal information as possible to increase their profits. I make a living as a software developer, but I'm coming to hate so much about modern technology. It reminds me of a line from the movie Sneakers [0], where some anonymous corporate programmer says to another, "Remember when computers used to be fun?" (Or something like that. I saw the movie 25 years ago.) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film)
- jnwatson 6y ago
  I dunno. Valve makes good VR gear, and they aren't in the business of selling personal information.
  - DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
    I agree that the Valve Index seems to be an outlier. I misspoke when I said "every" in my earlier post. I'm actually thinking to get one for my family this Christmas. (I'm in the queue for ordering.)
  - deathtrader666 6y ago
    How does Valve's VR gear rank in user experience?
    - Ruthalas 6y ago
      I've had the opportunity to use headsets from both companies, and own a Vive. Oculus' devices seem generally a bit lighter and more comfortable, and Valve/HTC's devices tend to be a bit heavier, but with more focus on high-end performance. This varies across their product lines of course, but I think it's fair to say both are strong contenders for good consumer VR products, albeit with different primary focuses.
    - jnwatson 6y ago
      The advantage and disadvantage of Valve's VR is entirely that it is tethered to a PC (at least wirelessly if you have the wireless module) and the PC ecosystem. That means you can take advantage of your existing Steam investment, Steam sales, and interface. The disadvantage is that maintaining a gaming PC seems daunting for some folks. Also, you have to figure out how to get cables from your PC to an empty space that is wired for VR. That can be a logistics problem if your gaming PC isn't near your living space.
chme 6y ago
What I really find sad it that most consumer electronic products now require some sort of account and/or internet service integration. Before you could just buy some hardware and actually own it and use it directly however you like, nowadays you very often need some vendor website or external service just to get it running. Very annoying and complicated.

jimmySixDOF 6y ago

They have removed the video teaser already but there is some more detail here : Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 leaks in full via official promo videos A full launch of the headset is rumored for later this week https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/9/14/21435891/oculus-quest-2-leaked-promotional-video-specs-features-qualcomm-xr-2-platform-6gb-ram-4k-display https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/9/14/21435891/ocu...

mark_l_watson 6y ago
Thanks, that was good to read. I love my Oculus Quest. I used to work in the VR industry over 20 years ago (work for SAIC, Disney via Angel Studios). When I bought a Quest, I felt like quality consumer VR had arrived. My wife thinks the Quest is too heavy/uncomfortable and I would like higher resolution. We will both be happy with the Quest 2 update.
me_me_me 6y ago
So you can play wirelessly some stuff with onboard chip and storage? Correct me if I am wrong, but it doesn't seem like you would be able to do much with that. Since VR is such a power hog - say 2x 2K display at at least 70frames with onbard chip?
- dangoor 6y ago
  I've had an Oculus Quest for the past ~15 months (essentially since it came out). It doesn't have the power for high-end PC levels of detail, but being able to just strap on the headset and start playing is delightful. It works quite well with a variety of games, and the Quest 2 should boost the experience.
- blensor 6y ago
  Wireless is really the key here. For wired VR there are actually add on programs that give you ingame hints if you twisted the cable too much in one direction so you can correct for it but for movement/fitness focused games that won't really cut it. I am developing an open-source fitness game for the Quest [1] (and other headsets but mainly for the Quest) and being able to just strap on your headset basically anywhere and go at it (don't even need controllers since it uses hand tracking) is such a nice way to play that it balances the lack of visual fidelity quite a lot (it helps that the game is not pretty to look at in the first place ;) ) [1] https://vrworkout.at https://vrworkout.at

grumple 6y ago

Tying this to my non-existent facebook account means I won't even think about buying it. A headset that doesn't constantly feed my data to big tech would be fantastic. Quest 1 is still going strong though (until our 2 year facebook-less amnesty runs up). Great piece of hardware. The biggest problem I see is that there's not been much adoption in terms of creating software from major software companies. I don't think the hardware is a limitation for the current gen. We could do so much more with vr than what we are doing right now.

ralston3 6y ago
I obviously agree and loathe the fact that Facebook is now tying the Quest to a FB account. However I enjoy VR too much so I think I’ll just bite the bullet and make a burner FB, covering my tracks as well as I can.
- MzHN 6y ago
  Until you get locked out because your account looks suspicious. This used to happen to my burner FB account every time I clicked the "developer" link in FB. I would get locked out and they'd ask me to send a scan of my passport. It was possible to get back by re-doing the phone activation, but I could not do any FB social auth development for customers without sending a scan of my passport.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  It’s not like FB is the only one making VR headsets.
  - Robotbeat 6y ago
    None are quite like the Quest, though. It's qualitatively different.
    - grumple 6y ago
      The main difference as far as I'm aware is that it's wireless and doesn't require a computer. It seems there are a few others have already hit the wireless mark. Not needing a computer is a big deal, but doesn't affect me personally (I only use it at home; I still want wireless though).

martythemaniak 6y ago

A lot of people are going to be spending a lot of time indoors this winter, I think this will sell like hotcakes.

vrpronftw 6y ago

I might be wrong but I'm going to guess a large number of VR users will watch VR porn. I personally don't want FB recording that I watch VR porn or what porn I watch.

Someone1234 6y ago

Own a Quest (1), use it nearly daily, and like my Quest. I won't even be looking at the Quest 2 because they now require a Facebook account to use it, and I have absolutely no interesting in that (from a privacy or integrations standpoint). I just want to game in peace. When I purchased my original Quest they were making guarantees that Facebook integrations were going to be optional, only to backtrack two years later.

scott31 6y ago
> guarantees that is a weird way to spell `lies`
- dylan604 6y ago
  more points in Scrabble that way
diggan 6y ago
> they were making guarantees Wasn't this a promise from Palmer Luckey as an individual, not a statement from either Oculus or Facebook? As a owner of Oculus, the difference doesn't really matter, it sucks none the less. But I think we're all better off never trusting what individuals nor for-profit companies says as they can always change their mind, especially if it brings them more money.
- WillPostForFood 6y ago
  “I want to make clear that those promises were approved by Facebook in that moment and on an ongoing basis,” Luckey said, “and I really believed it would continue to be the case for a variety of reasons. In hindsight, the downvotes from people with more real-world experience than me were definitely justified.”
donohoe 6y ago
But as you say, they will require that soon for the Quest 1.

tantalor 6y ago

Mods: this is removed, "Content Unavailable"

Robotbeat 6y ago

The higher resolution would be really nice for reading and therefore for non-game applications. If someone ever makes a retina-level (60 pixels per degree) display that's wireless like the Quest but as cheap as a nice monitor and comfortable to wear, then people may just use it in place of a multi-monitor setup. Particularly as the ecosystem evolves and it becomes easier to use mouse and keyboard in VR. (I think Quest just recently added support for tracking of a Bluetooth keyboard so you can see it in VR while you're typing on it.) $300-400 is roughly that price point, which is about where the current Quest is. But even with the upped resolution of the Quest2 (which might bring the pixel density to 20 pixels per degree), we're still about a factor of 10 away from the retina-like clarity that you'd want for reading and doing work in VR. (The highest end VR headsets are about a factor of 5 away from that, in terms of numbers of pixels.) By the way, it's interesting that we're pushing the limits of display bandwidths. Even with lossless compression, it's tough to shoot that many pixels smoothly even to a wired VR headset. We might need wireless headsets like the Quest if only to do some of the heavy-lifting, low-latency processing.

lostmsu 6y ago
Pixels per inch do not make sense on a VR headset. The screens are tiny.
- Robotbeat 6y ago
  oops,sorry, i meant pixels per degree (altho per inch is related to bulkiness of the headset).

gfodor 6y ago

This generation of VR from Facebook (along with the launch of Facebook Horizon) is their first major move towards consolidating control over the next (perhaps final) communication medium, and burning in Facebook's assumptions to it. For example, they believe you ought to always be represented by your legal name, with a physical representation similar to the one you have in real life when communicating remotely through immersive computing. This can be seen being manifested by the slow steady changes to policies and terms. With this generation, Facebook will require a Facebook account, and thus a full chain back to a legal identity for you to communicate with others on their VR platform. Over time they've slowly ratcheted up policies and behavior that are increasingly at odds with the desires of the early adopter enthusiast community. However, these have been done slowly so as to not kill the necessary participation in their ecosystem needed to bootstrap their wider VR platform plays. These developments are deeply troubling and those worried about a future where human interaction is largely surveiled and behavior largely manipulated ought to be mindful before buying into Facebook's ecosystem. I spoke extensively about the dangers here and now that it is coming to fruition it's even more important to understand the implications so consumers can choose wisely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5w8xbeCc2Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5w8xbeCc2Q

jlundberg 6y ago

I really like the friendly feel and the way she talked in this this leaked Oculus Quest 2 promo video. Well made and not at all that pushy like many commercials can be. Informative and to-the-point.