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Oculus Quest 2, Facebook’s new VR headset, began shipping today. The Quest 2 is a cheaper, revamped version of the original 2019 Quest. It has the same untethered standalone design but with a new chipset and a huge increase in screen resolution and controller battery life. And it’s starting at $ 299 for the base 64GB model and $ 399 for a 256GB version, a $ 100 drop from the original Quest.
Quest 2 pre-orders have been open since September, and are available through Oculus’ own site and stores such as Best Buy and Walmart, with a full list of retailers in the Oculus announcement post. It was difficult to buy an original Quest for much of last year, thanks to persistent supply issues, but the Quest 2 still appears to be widely available.
As we wrote in September, the Quest 2 improves upon some of the Quest’s biggest shortcomings, particularly its weight and balance issues, provided you pay the extra $ 49 for an alternate head strap. Oculus has also expanded its library since the original Quest launch, and has a list of upcoming games promised for later this year. The only potential problem is that you will need a Facebook account, not just a separate Oculus account, to use it.
The Quest 2 is replacing the original Quest and, starting next year, it will be Facebook’s only headset as the connected Rift S will be discontinued in the spring. The product still has high-level competition, including the Valve Index and the upcoming HP Reverb G2. But if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive virtual reality that doesn’t require a PC, the Quest is in a unique position, and it’s on sale now.