Oculus Quest All-in-one VR Gaming Headset – 128GB

To be transparent, I have owned an Oculus Rift and have a pretty quick Razr gaming laptop (not particularly new but it does the job). The one thing I hated about the Rift set up was the wires and all the sensors that needed to be plugged into my limited USB port computer. None of that mess with the Quest. How they managed to squeeze out the graphics they did from the snapdragon processor is baffling. This thing is just as good as my Rift graphically, but i can go anywhere with it. I'll let that sink in, this $399 (I have the $499 128GB version) mobile VR Headset is just as good as a $399 Rift with a 2k gaming laptop. On to the specifics: Build Quality 5/5 This thing feels solid, and the materials make it feel like a premium piece of tech. The soft fabric of the actual device and the straps that hold it to your face are all well made and comfortable to use. Graphics 4.5/5 As I said above I am very confused as to how they got this to look so great! I took a half star because of small amount of screendoor effect (where you can see the pixels) but that is not as bad as the aforementioned Rift. Sound 4/5 The device comes with audio that is piped down the straps into your ears. It is open and just a tab tinny. It does not come with headphones (though it does have 3.5mm sockets for your own) but I think they could have thrown in a cheap pair so it loses a star for that. Overall the sound is good considering it is not via a headphone. Also anyone near you can also hear what you are hearing. Tracking/Processing 4.5/5 I bundled these together, the Quest uses inside out tracking which means it has to see the controllers with the cameras on the headset. It does sometimes lose tracking in low light, which I believe is a known thing, just turn up your lights in the room and it is fine. Surprisingly good at guessing where your hands are if it loses them (behind your head for example when serving in Sports Scramble). Software 5/5 I'm going to start by saying I have only a few titles but the launch line up is pretty solid. Sports Scramble was surprisingly fun (until I punched a light serving lol), Robo Recall looks very similar to the Rift version and is equally as fun, I also bought Vader Immortal but have not had a chance to play it yet. Netflix works great, it had a bunch of other apps but I did not try them all. A surprisingly fun title was the First Steps tutorial, most tutorials are pretty dull, but this one was actually engaging! Overall I really liked the Quest, the freedom of no wires along with spot on tracking (in good light) and the ability to go anywhere with it make this a great VR Headset. The fact you can also Cast what you are seeing to a Roku (which I don't have so didn't try) or a Phone is pretty awesome and stops your VR sessions being a very lonely event! One other thing I forgot to mention is that you do need the Oculus App on your phone to make the Quest work, not a problem for me but worth mentioning. I will update more as I get more hands on time. But right now it is a pretty sweet device!

This is by far the longest review I have ever written, however if you're on the fence or unsure of which VR to get, I hope you may find some answers or information in this writeup. I can't really compare these to recent VR models, but I have been gaming since the mid 80s, so I have a lot of experience with the evolution of video games, PCs, hardware, gaming peripherals, etc. Since I have been gaming for most of my life, I am pretty selective about the games I play now, typically only groundbreaking newer stuff. A lot of titles feel redundant and worn out. I remember VR in the early 90s, which was a terrible flop. I could never justify buying one given the units were both expensive and low quality i.e. 263 × 230 LCD displays capable of 256 colors for $1K....ouch, no thanks. When Facebook bought Oculus, many other companies followed their lead. The first generations of these new VR headsets again were not really that great, but better than the 90s. I got to try the first Oculus and I wasn't very impressed, assuming these would flop as bad as the VFX1 from the 90s. There was also very little content, so I passed and waited. As with mose tech, they would either flop and go away or get refined and polished. I stumbled across a Youtube video on the top 15 VR games of 2020 and quite a few titles caught my attention. After spending about a week researching VR sets and options, I settled on the Oculus Quest. This wasn't an easy decision, given there are a lot of options out there for VR headsets today. I cross referenced the games I really wanted to play with each headset, and I was still unsure if the Quest would work with the Link cable to play some Steam games which would be very limiting for me. I mean after playing the first two Half Life games, it's pretty darn hard not to want to play Alyx. I took the gamble because I would send it straight back to Amazon if it fell even slightly short. I don't even own consoles, since I chose to put my money in good gaming PCs that I build myself. I can say easily that the Quest did not disappoint. Not having a tether nor external cameras is really nice, and I can live with a tether for something like Halflife because it's well worth the compromise. I should state that I do not have marathon gaming sessions on the quest. I find short bursts to be enough, and I have not used it more than an hour. That being said, that hour is pretty intense. I do find it harder on my eyes than a good gaming monitor. It's probably the distance to the screens combined with a lower refresh rate. For reference my main gaming monitor has a 144 hertz refresh rate while the Quest is at 72 hertz. The virtual desktop app is really neat (you have to buy that one). While it takes a few extra steps to get Steam VR up and running it is worth it. I don't see myself using it for PC gaming, it's just not as clear and seems to have a slight lag. You can see all of your PC monitors in there, but text can be a bit hard to read (I'm at that age where my eyesight is going, it comes with having gaming experience in the 80s) I'm not sure how many more games will be released in the future, but I feel there is enough to keep me occupied for quite a while. Onto my complaints. 1) It's not overly comfortable, which is another reason I only do shorter durations. It kind of feels like wearing a tight helmet, but tight just around your eyes, vs your whole face. Time will make these units smaller, lighter and less noticeable. 2) It's hard to get the view just right. As with most optics there are two factors that have a huge effect: eye relief and angle. Basically where your eye needs to be for the clearest image through a lens. Not only where it needs to be, but how much it can deviate from this location without losing clarity. With the Quest it's "not much" which makes it hard to get the image perfect, especially when changing between multiple people. 3) There is no option at the moment for different user profiles. This is flat out lame today. This is setup to push the idea that your family members need to have their own Quest. Maybe that would be an option if they dropped the price. At a minimum the games should have the ability for different save files (some do), users, or player progress. This is mainly and issue where this is a campaign mode (like Beat Saber which is really fun). 4) The OEM Link cable is $80, that's a bit high for a "quality" 3.0 USB. You can use an aftermarket cable (which I am), but it took me a few to find one that didn't constantly disconnect from the PC, which was beyond annoying. 5) Your 3.0 USBs or your USB-C may not work with the Link cable. My high end Asus ROG motherboard has 4x 3.0 USB and even a USB-C port. However at least one of the 3.0 USBs didn't work (called a weak port), and the drivers for the USB-C are "incompatible" with the Quest. Baffling to me, not what I expected from a top line gaming motherboard (it's a bit dated, but not much has changed as far as gaming tech). Some sources claim extra USB devices can "weaken" USB ports, and I have an 850W power supply? Go figure. Even with my complaints the verdict is a win and worth it. It's really well done, the internal cameras, guardian boundary, and tracking is just amazing. You are using a device that is essentially a wireless gaming platform with wifi, bluetooth, monitors, sound and cameras (calculating your position and movement) all attached to your head and all working flawlessly to provide an unreal VR experience. Even the controllers are really well done, both in their setup and how they look and work in VR. I look forward to where this tech is going in the future and I'm hopeful for more quality games, which is still a bit limited. Hopefully with the success and popularity of Half Life, more will come soon.

I bought this with 2 weeks until my son's 21st birthday. I paid priority shipping, and despite Melbourne lockdowns, it actually arrived early!! This VR is phenomenal, so much fun, so immersive. I still can't walk the plank with my fear of heights and twice i've tried to lean on a desk that isn't really there. its way more comfortable than the reviews say, headset can get a bit sweaty depending what ur playing, but all in all, its the best gaming experience and well worth the price. Its as much fun to watch someone else playing as it is to play really - 100% recommend this!!!

Very comfortable and easy to use. Must buy for all VR lovers

Like the ease, comfort and an awesome viewing experience it creates. You should know why you are buying this, learning, entertainment, or exploring new tech- the standalone feature gives this device a new range of possibilities to try on. Totally worth it!

This was my first experience with a full VR headset beyond using the samsung gear and I'm very impressed. I bought the 128GB model as the 64GB was out of stock but don't see a reason beyond that to get the larger storage. TL:DR, great headset with only minor flaws. I normally wear glasses but found they weren't needed; it does come with a spacer in case you have a strong prescription. The lenses have a very targeted "sweet spot" so expect a lot of fine adjusting over the first day or two to find yours. Also make sure you loosen the middle strap completely before putting on the headset, it comes very tight. As strange as it sounds I would recommend looking up a video on YouTube on how to properly adjust everything. It would have made my experience much better from the get go. The headset isn't without it's flaws but I think that may be just where things are in VR right now. In black loading screens or very dark scenes I do notice differences in the light levels which is surprising considering it's an OLED screen. Once everything is going it's a non-issue though. The so-called "screen door" effect is somewhat noticeable even with the resolution as high as it is but only if you really look for it. Again, a non-issue once you're playing and I expect it's that way with most headsets that aren't a 5 digit price. Oculus link works great. I only have occasional minor hitching and that's usually during exceptionally busy scenes or loading. Make sure you get a decent cable like the Anker 10ft USB C one recommended by Oculus. You can use it with a USB 3 extension but I do have some issues sometimes getting the PC to recognize it. The biggest issue by far is the weight. It's around 1.25 pounds or 570 grams which is a lot to have on the front of your head. Once the head strap is adjusted properly I can use it for around an hour before my face starts to hurt from it resting on my cheekbones. I ended up buying an 8 pack of 2oz fishing weights and taping them to the back of the headset strap to counterbalance it and now I can use it for double that time. Your mileage may vary. Overall it's a great experience and great if you want to get into VR without breaking the bank. VR has come a long way and I suspect with the advancements coming for this one in particular (hand tracking, possibly wireless oculus link) it's going to be a good year for VR.

Worth for money, this is my first VR product and enjoyed it.