Next-gen Oculus Quest will land September 15 according to tipster

The OG Oculus Quest the most popular VR headset that Oculus has produced to date, and for good reason. The device includes a built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and onboard storage to power standalone VR experiences coupled with the included controllers. Via a cable, it also works as a PC-powered VR headset for supercharged VR gaming experiences.

Since the global pandemic has taken hold, the current Quest has been difficult to find, partly because the unexpected additional demand dried up both existing stocks and units planned for production ahead of the new model. A quick look at the Oculus website shows that both the 64 GB model and 128 GB model are out of stock and it could be because the new model is tipped to launch as soon as September 15 according to Twitter user WalkingCat/@h0x0d.

Among the tweaks are a less front-heavy design, and what looks like a more sophisticated headband that slides to adjust for each user rather than relying on a velcro strap. It also appears to have lost the OG Quest’s IPD (interpupillary distance) slider which is required for optimal vision through the two existing OLED-based 72 Hz panels (one for each eye, naturally). This suggests these could be replaced with a single LCD panel which has been favored on some newer designs as LCDs can offer higher refresh rates more cost-effectively.

A key question that remains unanswered is whether the new Quest will be fitted with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845-based XR1 specialized VR chipset or the more powerful Snapdragon 855-based XR2 chipset with 5G – clearly, we are hoping for the latter, so fingers crossed on that front. The controllers also look to have been tweaked with the with touch controls similar to the Oculus Rift CV1 which is preferred by those familiar with both the OG Rift and the newer VR headsets from Oculus.