Oculus Quest could be the new VR class leader, but may not be a mass market catalyst

Oculus Quest is the new class leader for premium/standalone VR, and looks like the ultimate expression of the early-stage VR 1.0 market. Combining Oculus Go quality graphics with inside-out tracking and Touch controllers, it gives Facebook the most compelling version of the current state of the art.

But this is Oculus Quest’s challenge — it is the current state of the art. While it could sell well to an enthusiast market, it might not be the hoped-for mass market catalyst for VR when it launches next year. This could take another two years to arrive, with future generations of premium standalone VR headsets from Facebook, HTC, Microsoft and others around 2020/2021.