Facebook is doubling down on Oculus Quest — for better and worse

As an Oculus Quest owner, I should be thrilled that Facebook’s Oculus Connect 6 keynote yesterday was so heavily Quest-focused. After a series of major announcements, it’s clear that virtually all roads now lead to Quest in the long term. But I’m not thrilled with how Quest is looking in the short term, particularly as it heads into the critical holiday shopping season.

Let’s start with the good news. By year’s end, the standalone headset will play tethered Oculus Rift games if you have a PC and buy a new USB-C cable, as well as at least 50 Oculus Go tetherless titles. Early next year, you’ll be able to control some Quest apps with just your hands and fingers — controllers will be optional — thanks to a fully software-based implementation of Leap Motion-like hand tracking technology. In a brief nod toward the distant future, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged that current Quest software will be forward compatible with future Quest hardware.