Quest 2

The Quest 2 is a standalone virtual reality headset developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta Platforms. It was unveiled on September 16, 2020, and released on October 13, 2020 as the Oculus Quest 2, as the second generation of the Quest line. It was then rebranded as the Meta Quest 2 in 2022, as part of a company-wide phase-out of the Oculus brand following the rebranding of Facebook, Inc. as Meta.

The Quest 2 is an updated version of the original Oculus Quest with a lighter weight, updated internal specifications, a display with a higher per-eye resolution and refresh rate, and updated Oculus Touch controllers with improved battery life. As with its predecessor, the Quest 2 can run as either a standalone headset with an internal, Android-based operating system, or with Oculus Rift-compatible VR software running on a personal computer.

The Quest 2 received mostly positive reviews as an incremental update to the Quest, with critics noting its improved display and weight. Some of its changes faced criticism, including its stock head strap, reduced interpupillary distance (IPD) options, and a new requirement for users to log in with a Facebook account to use the headset and Oculus services. The Quest 2 was succeeded by the Meta Quest 3 in 2023, but remained in production as a lower-cost model until September 2024, when it was replaced at the same price point by the Meta Quest 3S.

Its design is similar to that of the original Quest, but replaces the black, cloth-covered exterior with white-colored plastic. It is lighter than the first-generation Quest, at 503 grams (17.7 oz) in comparison to 571 grams (20.1 oz). The strap was changed to one made of fabric, held with adjustable velcro, from the elastic strap of the first-generation Quest.

The Quest 2 uses the Snapdragon XR2, a system on a chip by Qualcomm. It is a derivative of the Snapdragon 865 that is designed for VR and augmented reality devices. It includes 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM — an increase of 2 GB over the first-generation model.

The dual OLED displays of the first-generation Quest were replaced by a singular, fast-switch LCD panel with a per-eye resolution of 1832×1920, and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz (an increase from 1440×1600 per-eye at 72 Hz). The display uses striped subpixels rather than a PenTile matrix; this arrangement improves image clarity by reducing the screen-door effect. At launch, the display's refresh rate was locked at 72 Hz via software, with 90 Hz mode as an experimental option limited to the home area only. A software update in November 2020 enabled games to run in 90 Hz mode. In April 2021, an update further added experimental support for 120 Hz mode in games.

The headset supports physical interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment at 58 mm, 63 mm and 68 mm, adjusted by physically moving the lenses into each position.

The Quest 2 runs operating system software based on Android Open Source Project (AOSP) source code (branded since April 2024 as "Horizon OS"). To conduct first-time setup, a smartphone running the Meta Quest app must be used.