Oculus Quest 2 boosts PC VR with wireless streaming and virtual office upgrades

Level up.

- BRAD CHACOS

The Oculus Rift is dead (go. pcworld.com/ocld), slain by the majestic Oculus Quest (go. pcworld.com/mjoq) and its self-contained virtual reality, but that doesn’t mean the PC VR dream is dead too. Oculus just announced an upcoming v28 update that aims to supercharge the VR chops of the Quest 2 (go.pcworld.com/ qst2) with faster 120Hz refresh speeds, Air Link wireless PC connectivity, and a better way to bring your physical desktop into your virtual world.

That refresh rate increase will be a game-changer—it’s much faster than the 90Hz that the Quest 2 currently runs at by default, and faster screen speeds provide a much smoother (and thus less puke-tastic) VR experience—but Air Link probably matters more to PC VR enthusiasts. Until now, you’ve needed the high-speed Oculus Link cable (go. pcworld.com/lkcb) or a luxurious USB-C cord to connect your Quest headset to your computer, which allows it to leverage your PC’s gaming hardware for higher-fidelity VR. We said the $80 cord was “worth every penny” (go.pcworld.com/evpn).

Air Link, which will be included in the Quest 2’s experimental mode for now, pulls off the same trick but sans wires, built on the back of the Oculus Link’s streaming pipeline.

“Oculus Link cables will still provide a robust and consistent experience, while those with a strong Wi-Fi setup can choose to stream wirelessly through Air Link,” Oculus’s announcement states (