Oculus Quest 2 review - The best VR experience - Android

The Oculus Quest 2 is very much a "next-generation" console launching alongside the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.

For reference, the Snapdragon 835 was a smartphone chipset released in March 2017, while the Snapdragon XR2 is a custom VR chipset based on 2020's Snapdragon 865. Along with the assumed performance difference expected in a chipset that's three years newer, Qualcomm has packed some brand new abilities like new shaders, support for 120Hz displays, the ability to push 3x higher resolution, and an 11x improvement in AI calculations.

While Facebook didn't allow Quest 2-exclusive games at launch, the announcement of Resident Evil 4 VR marked a change in the company's strategy. Developers are no longer restricted from targeting just Quest 2, but Facebook is still encouraging them to keep the original Oculus Quest in mind since there were well over one million active users as of April 2021. As a Quest 2 user, you can expect games to have a significantly higher resolution, a smoother framerate, higher-quality models, higher resolution textures, more distance and up-close detail, real-time lighting, bloom effects, better particles, and improved shaders when compared to the original Oculus Quest.

Our Oculus Quest 2 vs Oculus Quest graphics comparison includes a few launch titles that were quickly updated for Quest 2. While these titles can give you an idea of what to expect from games built for both systems, the difference while using each is going to be far greater than what you can see here. Aside from a graphics and resolution upgrade, Quest 2 games run much more smoothly thanks to the ability to run at 90Hz or 120Hz.

A better experience

Oculus Quest 2 Performance and battery life

In addition to native Quest 2 games, the Quest 2 can stream PC VR games at 120Hz with the latest Virtual Desktop patch. That makes the Quest 2 the most affordable 120Hz PC VR headset around. It also doesn't need any wires to play PC VR games, as Oculus Air Link and Virtual Desktop can both stream these games over your home's Wi-Fi connection.

That new 120Hz refresh rate is something that's only available on apps and games that specifically call for the feature — even then, you'll need to enable it in the experimental menu before seeing the advantage. 120Hz is a massive paradigm shift for mobile VR which, historically, was often relegated to 60-72Hz on most headsets. 120Hz was previously only available for high-end PCs and expensive headsets like the Valve Index (which can actually max out at 144Hz), and means the Quest 2 is the most affordable way to play PC VR games without spending a massive chunk of change.

The original Oculus Quest, while amazing in its own right, was very obviously held back by the aging mobile chipset that powered it. Even though the Oculus Quest 2 is also powered by a mobile chipset, three years of silicone advancements and a partnership with Facebook's own research division has yielded something even more impressive than I expected. Despite bumping the resolution up by 50% and increasing the refresh rate by 25% at launch (a 60% refresh rate bump as of April 2021), the Quest 2 is lightning fast at everything it does.

From menus to loading times, the Quest 2 is a substantial improvement over the original in every way. While playing games, pressing the Oculus Home button instantly brings up the universal home menu and, better yet, that menu now floats over top most games as an overlay instead of taking you away from the game entirely as it used to. Likewise, clicking record video or take screenshot results in an instant response from the system, while the original might have taken a second or two (sometimes longer). Plus you'd occasionally see hitching and stuttering along the way — something I rarely experience on the Quest 2.

I can recall several times when I was directly comparing games between the two headsets, where the recorded video from the original Oculus Quest would become corrupted for no apparent reason. This is yet another thing I didn't experience on the Quest 2, and it all adds up to a more consistently flawless execution of what you might hope or expect from a VR console.

Casting to a TV or Chromecast has also seen an over improvement, although not quite as much as I was hoping for. Some games are still a pixellated mess that's not at all enjoyable to watch, while others perform just fine. These messy games are going to negatively affect the experience of folks in the same room as you trying to watch, which really is just unfortunate. Here's hoping Oculus makes this more reliable in the future.

Support for Wi-Fi 6 means faster downloads, a more consistent connection, and even better wireless streaming. We'll cover streaming performance in depth below, but know this: Wi-Fi 6 makes a substantial difference in wireless streaming performance.

Just about the only thing that's not better is the battery life.

Just about the only thing that's not better is the battery life. Ironically enough, the battery life on the Quest 2 is roughly 30 minutes shorter than the original Quest. That puts it at around 2-3 hours of gameplay before you'll have to charge it up again. You can get around that limitation by getting one of the best accessories for the Quest 2, like the Elite Strap with built-in battery, or even plugging a regular USB Type-C power bank into it while playing.

Something old, something new

Oculus Quest 2 Comfort, design, and sound

When comparing the Oculus Quest 2 against the original Oculus Quest, almost everything about the Quest 2 screams newer tech. It's smaller! It's lighter! It's more powerful! It uses a cloth and velcro head strap — wait, what?

While it seems a bit bizarre for Facebook to have reverted from a more rigid head strap to what feels like an "old" VR standby, I was pleasantly surprised to find my initial thoughts on the strap to be incorrect. Let's get the negatives out of the first though, shall we? I hate resizing this thing. On the back of the strap, you'll find two plastic pieces that can be pulled apart or brought closer together to tighten or loosen the strap.

While this sounds great in practice, and rather simple to boot, the fact that there's hair on most people's heads turns this simple task into a rather difficult one and, if you clumsily grab your hair and pull, a painful one. If you're the only one using the Quest 2 in your home, it's not likely you'll have an issue. The new straps are super comfortable to wear, do a great job of balancing the weight of the headset across your entire skull, and actually hold their position rather nicely.

The strap adjustment issue really only rears its ugly head when passing it around for others to play, as it's just more complicated than I would like. You'll also likely struggle a bit with it at first if you have long hair (as evidenced by the awkward photos above), but after a period of time, it becomes second nature. If you like the general shape and design of the straps but want something slightly more comfortable, VR Cover's head strap pads are a great way to go.

Still, despite the annoyance with adjusting it, these straps are quite a bit better than the ones on the original Quest because they actually grip the back of your cranium instead of the mid-point. The Oculus Quest 2 fit all head sizes quite nicely in my testing, all the way down to my 6-year-old son's head.

Aside from being lighter and smaller, I also really liked the redesigned foam facial interface, which significantly helped pad the headset against my cheeks and forehead. These pads are thicker and more supportive, yet just as easy to remove as the original ones. That makes changing these pads out nice and easy when multiple people are playing, making things a whole lot more sanitary.

There's even an adapter that comes in each box to add additional space for folks that need glasses while playing. Since foam sucks in moisture quite easily though, you might want to consider picking up a