Is Meta Quest 2 Worth Buying?

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Virtual reality has never been more accessible, and the recent release of Meta Quest 3 has only expanded the capabilities of gaming headsets. But along with its new features and capabilities, the Quest 3 comes with a much bigger price tag—it retails for $500, which is double the recently reduced price of the Meta Quest 2.

Even though Meta Quest 2 no longer offers the latest technology or customizations, it is still a major player in the virtual reality market. If you’re wondering whether this car is worth buying in 2024, my answer is a qualified (but enthusiastic) yes.

Don’t write Meta Quest 2 off just yet.

Meta Quest 2 was a huge step forward for Meta’s virtual reality department. The product line was previously known as Oculus Quest, and this standalone headset promised great VR but fell short in many ways (more on that below). After a rebrand and some technological advancements, Meta Quest 2 was born and finally delivered much of what Oculus Quest promised.

With Meta Quest 2, the company brought to market one of the most affordable and functional virtual reality headsets. Sure, it’s already three years old at this point, but the technology used is still more than enough to provide consistent performance in games like Beat Saber and even Valve’s Half-life Alyx . Plus, since the headset supports both standalone and PC-linked gameplay, you have access to more games than you’ll likely ever play.

It’s also relatively convenient, and I say that as someone who’s spent hundreds of hours with the Quest 2, the original Quest, the HTC Vive, the Valve Index, and others. Despite the “better technology” in some of these other headsets, the Quest 2 is still my favorite VR headset. It’s lightweight, offers access to a variety of games and apps, and has some of the most comfortable and functional controllers on the market.

How Quest 2 Improved Meta’s VR Vision

The Quest 2 was truly a huge improvement over the original Quest, which suffered from uneven tracking depending on how active you were while gaming and using apps. I had a lot of issues with battery life while using the Quest, which isn’t surprising for a device that offers untethered VR. Luckily, the Quest 2 solved this problem by making the hardware more reliable and extending battery life, even giving you the option to purchase additional battery packs if needed. If you don’t want to deal with the battery at all, the PC link cable allows you to play VR games when connected directly to your PC.

The quest also suffered from a lack of content. This wasn’t entirely his fault, as developers only really started to embrace virtual reality with the launch of the Quest 2. However, many of the virtual reality capabilities on the original Quest simply weren’t as detailed as those available on the second generation Quest. VR headset.

While the Quest always seemed like a cheaper, somewhat compromised alternative to more expensive VR headsets, the Quest 2 offered great value with less of a hardware gap between it and its more expensive competitors. Three years later, it may not offer the best resolution or the most powerful hardware (especially compared to the Quest 3), but it hides its cost-effectiveness well behind robust, well-optimized software that delivers immersive content no matter how you access it via a wireless network or via a communication cable from a PC.

Quest 2 has become cheaper

However, all this wasn’t enough: Meta recently lowered the price of the Quest 2, making it an even more affordable entry point into virtual reality. You can now get the 128GB Quest 2 for $249 . This is a huge opportunity for those who want to try out VR without spending any money, especially since the price of the headset jumped to $400 at one point in 2022 . (If 128GB of storage isn’t enough, you can also spend another $50 on the 256GB version, which is now on sale for $299.99 after a New Year’s price cut . There’s also the fact that Meta has promised to support the Quest 2 for years to come .) a good investment if you don’t want to spend money on the Quest 3.

Here’s a look at what exactly that $250 or $300 will get you:

  • LCD display with fast switching; Resolution 1832 x 1920 per eye; Refresh rates of 60, 72 and 90 Hz are supported.

  • Storage options 128GB/256GB

  • Redesigned touch controllers with thumb rests.

  • 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) for realistic head and body tracking without external sensors.

  • 3D positional audio + 3.5mm audio port

  • Glasses compatibility

  • Additional PC connection cable for PC gaming in virtual reality

You can purchase the Meta Quest 2 from Amazon or Best Buy, depending on your storage needs:

Even Quest 3 has somewhere to go

So why choose an older headset over the new and improved Quest 3? Well, if spending roughly half that isn’t enough to convince you, then it’s also important to note that the Quest 2 has continued to improve over the past three years. The software it runs on is fantastic, and while the Quest 3 offers the latest technology and hardware, the software still catches up to the smoothness and reliability of the Quest 2. In the short term, this means the Quest 2 will be easier to use. take it and use it. If you don’t mind being a little behind the times, it remains a great option for entry-level VR gaming.

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