How To Join The Metaverse With An Oculus Quest 2

We have written about Oculus products (including the Oculus Quest, the Oculus Quest 2, and the Oculus Go) several times over the years, so it is bittersweet to see the brand be retired. Bitter because I’ll always have found memories of using an Oculus VR headset, sweet because the rebrand to “Meta” means that the company formerly known as Facebook believes in the technology so much that it will continue to launch the products directly under its own name.

No one knows yet exactly what the so-called “metaverse” will work, and if they say they do they are lying. I expect even Mark Zuckerberg himself would admit if pressed that he is currently thinking in the broadest of (Henri Rousseau-esque) strokes. But one thing we do know is that Oculus headsets will be at the center of it—at least at the beginning until everyone is implanted with a VR chip at birth or whatever.

With that in mind, if you want to be an early adopter of the metaverse, you need an Oculus headset. Future iterations are going to be called Meta headsets, and presumably they will offer more of the real-world applications that Zuckerberg promises. Until then, the Oculus Quest 2 will have to suffice.

Oculus Quest 2 — Advanced All-In-One Virtual Reality Headset — 128 GB — $299

To date, the primary function of a VR headset is gaming. The Oculus Quest 2 is the best tech has to offer in this regard. However, it also offers several proto-metaverse applications, such as virtual concerts and even a virtual meeting space called Horizon Workrooms. Its latest feature is called Horizon Homes, which attempts to give you a virtual space where you can socialize with friends and family. Where was this 20 months ago at the start of the pandemic lockdowns?

When it comes to the metaverse, Facebook—excuse me, “Meta”—is just getting started. You can choose to wait and see if this is all a hilarious flop like New Coke, or you can choose to jump on the bandwagon and reap the benefits as soon as possible. Creepy as it may seem, the metaverse has its advantages. For one, there is no doubt that virtual Travis Scott concerts are safer than the real thing.