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Definition: Meta Quest


A family of head-mounted virtual reality systems from Meta Platforms. Meta Quest devices are stand-alone 3D headsets with handheld controllers allowing people to explore, socialize and play games in real or fantasy worlds (see social VR).

Invented by Palmer Luckey in 2012 and branded as Oculus, his hugely successful Kickstarter campaign brought in 10 times the original goal of $250K. The first product was the Oculus Rift in 2013, which was tethered to the PC. A year later, Facebook acquired the company, and maintained the Oculus branding for eight years until it changed its name to Meta Platforms, and Oculus products became Meta products. See mixed reality, virtual reality, avatar and App Lab.

The Horizon Platform
In 2024, Meta Quest Platform, the virtual reality operating system (VR OS) in Meta Quest products, was renamed Meta Horizon Platform and made available to headset manufacturers. Asus, Lenovo and Microsoft are the first to use Meta's OS.

Current Models: Quest 3, 3S and Quest Pro
The current models are the Meta Quest 3, 3S and Quest Pro. In development as Project Cambria, the Quest Pro is twice the price of the Quest 3. Featuring higher resolution and greater realism, the Quest Pro also provides a color pass-through for mixed reality instead of black and white. The Pro's eye and face tracking enable the system to determine a user's reaction to events and adjust the experience accordingly. See Meta VR prototypes.

The Quest 3S replaces the earlier Quest 2 and becomes Meta's junior VR product, retailing for $300, compared to $500 for the Quest 3. Looking and feeling like the Quest 3, the Quest 3S has a different camera arrangement but uses the same chips. The Quest 3S display is the same as the Quest 2.

Tethered (Oculus Rift)
The original Rift models were tethered to the PC. The subsequent Rift S had greater resolution and eliminated three of the four USB cables, and the HDMI connection changed to DisplayPort.

Untethered (Oculus Go)
In 2017, the company partnered with Qualcomm to develop the stand-alone Android-based Go. In addition to VR, Android TV and many Android apps could also be displayed in the goggles via the smartphone. See untethered and Android TV.

Untethered/Wireless (Quest)
In 2019, the Quest was the second untethered display after the Go. Like the Rift, the Quest's positional tracking enables six degrees of freedom (see 6DOF). See virtual reality.




The Untethered Quest
Using both controllers, the author of this encyclopedia is immersed in a 3D game on the Meta Quest 2 system. Launched in 2021, the Quest 2 is lighter, more responsive and has a higher resolution than the first Quest. The enhanced Meta Quest 3 debuted in 2023.






A Very Large Oculus
Oculus means "eye" or "circular opening." The Oculus in New York is a transportation hub and multi-level shopping mall on the grounds of the World Trade Center.






From Oculus Quest to Meta Quest
After Facebook changed its name to Meta, the Oculus line was rebranded Meta; witness this Costco display in mid-2022.