Oculus Quest 2 Review

One unique feature that sets this headset apart from the rest is the ability to tether it to a gaming PC using the included cable to play PC-based VR games. This makes the Quest 2 considerably more versatile than many other options, allowing you to switch between standalone and tethered mode fairly easily and offers a wider variety of VR experiences.

Performance Comparison

Interactiveness

Our first round of tests rated and ranked how interactive the Quest 2 is compared to the other headsets. For this metric, we looked at the different controllers and other ways this headset offers to interact with your virtual world, what limitations there are to the room that you run the system in, and how accurate we found the motion and position tracking to be. The Quest 2 did quite well, earning one of the better scores of the group.

The bulk of the interface for this headset is through the pair of handheld controllers, with only volume and power buttons on the headset itself.

The Quest 2 uses a pair of handheld controllers that are similar to the ones on the other models of Oculus headsets. We think these are very ergonomic and comfortable to hold. We found the motion tracking to be very accurate, even when moving quickly. The cameras on the headset never really lost the position or misread a movement, even when the view was partially obstructed.

We also found the general motion tracking of the headset to be excellent. We think the cameras are top-notch and found that they almost always followed our gaze perfectly. The recommended room is around 6.5'x6.5' but can go up to 25'x25' with its 4 wide-angle cameras.

Visual Immersiveness

Next, we moved on to ranking and scoring how visually immersive of an environment each headset provided, based on the image resolution and viewing quality, as well as the amount of ambient light blocked out and the field of view. The Quest 2 again did very well, earning one of the higher scores of the group.

The Quest 2 blocks out most of the ambient light, with only a minuscule amount coming in around the bridge of your nose in our experience. This headset's display has a resolution of 1832x1920 pixels per eye. It also has one of the larger fields of views — around 92° in the horizontal and 89° in the vertical — though this can vary slightly depending on your interpupillary distance.

Our judges found the image quality to be excellent on the whole. It's easy to read text and the imagery produced is very striking, leading to an exceptionally immersive experience, both in standalone and tethered mode.

Comfort

Next, we rated and scored how comfortable it is to wear each headset. To do this, we had a variety of different judges try out each headset and give their opinion on how it felt, particularly if they thought they would be able to wear it for extended periods. We also noted if there is enough airflow to keep your face from getting too sweaty and if you can comfortably wear glasses while wearing the headset. The Quest 2's performance dropped a bit in this metric compared to its previous top-tier results but it still merited an above-average score.

Our judges overall found the Quest 2 to be decently comfortable, though we did find it to be a bit of a delicate dance to get it adjusted tightly enough to keep it in place for quick movements without becoming unduly uncomfortable. Generally, we ended up leaving it a bit looser for the sake of comfort, sacrificing some stability when moving abruptly.

This headset does include a glasses spacer but we found it to be fairly tight, even with the spacer. We think this could work if you have smaller glasses with narrow or wireframes but larger glasses might be out of the picture. We also didn't find that our testers' faces would get overly sweaty during use but they definitely would notice their faces becoming warm after extended VR gaming sessions.

User Friendliness

For our next round of evaluations, we rated and scored how much of a hassle it is to set up the Quest 2 whenever you want to use it — once the initial setup and installation process has been completed. We looked at the time and effort it took to get the headset ready and get the audio hooked up. We also deducted points if we found it common to accidentally hit buttons on the headset when adjusting it or in normal use. The Quest 2's score rebounded greatly when it came to this set of tests, earning it one of the top scores of the entire set of headsets.

Overall, you just need to put on the headset, power it up and you are all set. It's very fast and easy to set up — a trait that we particularly value when it comes to VR headsets. You just need to adjust the interpupillary distance (IPD) if someone else was using the headset or if the image is out of focus and that's about it.

This headset has integrated speakers through the headband, so there is no need for a separate audio hookup. The headset has volume and power buttons right on the headset that are easy to access and aren't in the way at all whenever you put the headset on or take it off or adjust its fit.

The hand controllers also pair to the headset quickly and easily, rarely giving us any connectivity problems.

Ease of Setup

Our final series of tests focused on how much effort it took to go from unboxing the Quest 2 to playing a VR experience for the first time. We based scores on the difficulty of the hardware setup, software setup, and what other items are necessary to run this headset that aren't included in the box. As expected at this point the Quest 2 finished out with an exemplary score, meriting one of the best scores that we have seen.

In terms of hardware setup, the Quest 2 is essentially ready to go right out of the box — just remove the protective films and you are all set. We also like that the software setup process is very easy as well. You just need to download the Oculus app and log in through Facebook and you can start.

You will need a smartphone at a minimum to get this headset set up and a VR-compatible computer if you plan to use it in tethered mode.

Value

While this might not be the best budget option for those hoping to spend as little as possible, we think it is actually a solid value option if you are searching for a top-tier VR headset. It is very versatile and costs quite a bit less than many of the other premium headsets, giving you more bang for the buck.

Conclusion