Possible Oculus Quest 2 Details Leak

When it comes to breakthroughs in virtual reality (VR) technology, none has made greater strides than the Oculus Quest. It was the first consumer headset that offered a full VR experience without needing to be attached to a console or PC. Plus, it’s the only VR tech to work without wires. And after one short year, manufacturers are already proving that they can take this phenomenal technology to the next level. This July, reliable sources have reported leaks of an Oculus Quest 2 in the making, and it’s nothing like you expect it to be.

A new Oculus Quest in development

While it’s true that Facebook’s Oculus division has confirmed that they’re working on a new VR headset last May, no one was expecting a confirmation until 2021. According to Facebook, they were looking into creating models that are 10% to 15% smaller than the current Oculus Quest. This was to address one of the biggest flaws of the current model—it’s heaviness. Since it works standalone, the presence of a metal core PCB and all the components attached to it promote a more uniformed heat distribution. A cooling system is also built into the device itself. Add the heavy tech needed to run VR sims, and you’ve got yourself a full computer sitting on your head.

Hopefully, the Oculus Quest 2 will be much lighter than that. It certainly helps that their May report also stated that the materials they’ll be using will be more reminiscent of the Oculus Rift S, which means elastic plastic (instead of fabric so it’s naturally lighter) and velcro straps on the side.

More recently, an image leaked by TheWalkingCat on Twitter seems to all but resemble the mentioned design choices.

CREDIT WalkingCat on Twitter

It was posted with the brief caption “15 Sept,” which could point to a potential release date. Last year’s Oculus Connect 6 event was also held in September, so the Oculus Quest 2 could be revealed by then.

Key features and other details

Other than the white color, additional features we can take from the photo include fresnel lenses, dual-microphones, and a bigger light-blocking nose piece. In fact, this new design looks to have eliminated the interpupillary distance adjuster completely. The current Oculus Quest had it so that the lens distance could be adjusted according to the user’s preference. It may very well do what the Oculus Rift S did, which used a single LCD panel and software control to calibrate lens distance.

The price is expected to be around $399, matching the price of the current model. After all, this seems to be the median price point for most Oculus devices. Both the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest are priced as such. Due to better materials and higher frame rates, there may be price bumps, but nothing too significant.

Either way, we’ll very likely get more information soon as announcements for the Oculus Connect 7 drop in the next few weeks.