What you need to know
- Oculus Quest firmware v23 rolls out today, November 13, and adds a number of the most-requested features to the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2.
- The Oculus Quest 2 is getting 90Hz support natively, including with Oculus Link.
- Both Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 feature Oculus Move, a system-level fitness tracker that makes at-home fitness easier than ever.
- The Oculus Store finally supports app gifting, so you can purchase games and apps and gift them to other people.
The November Oculus update is adding in some of the most-requested features for both the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2. The Oculus Quest 2 launched one month ago and, to the surprise of many, didn't allow most apps and games to run at 90Hz despite having hardware capable of utilizing the higher refresh rate. That all changes with today's firmware v23 update, which natively adds 90Hz to games and apps that support it. Right now, that list includes games like Beat Saber, Echo VR, Job Simulator, Racket: NX, Space Pirate Trainer, SUPERHOT VR, and Vacation Simulator, with plenty more to come in the near future.
Oculus Link now supports the higher refresh rate, as well, giving PC VR users the ability to toggle between 72Hz, 80HZ, and 90Hz in the Oculus app on their PC when using an Oculus Link cable with the Quest 2. Facebook has also added in a new graphical adjustment panel that lets gamers fine-tune the image quality to their liking, which is a huge improvement upon the automatic settings that existed in beta. This also officially marks Oculus Link's exit from beta.
All Oculus users will celebrate these last two big additions, which include app gifting and the addition of Oculus Move. App gifting is something that gamers have been asking Oculus to add since the beginning of 2016 when the Oculus Rift first launched, and that means it's now possible to purchase games and apps from the Oculus Store and gift them to other users. That's some perfect timing for the Holiday season, which is sure to see a ton of new Oculus users join the ranks.
Both Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 users can also take advantage of Oculus Move, a brand new system-level fitness tracker that's built right into the Quest and Quest 2. With Oculus Move, gamers can keep track of important fitness stats like calories burned and how long they've been actively playing, which certainly will come in handy as more and more people need to stay home from work or school and work out at home. Goals can be set and any game or app can be used with Oculus Move, making it a great way to work out at home with your favorite game. Oculus Move is rolling out to everyone starting 11/16.
Little effort, big pay off
You won't need a PC or a console to play on the Oculus Quest 2, which makes this the easiest way to play in VR.
