If you have been interested in the standalone Oculus Quest headset, Oculus just announced a new model of the popular VR system which will be sold for $100 less than the previous model on the October 13 release date.

The 64GB Oculus Quest 2 is priced at $299 and the 256GB version is priced at $399. By comparison, the first generation headset was $399 for the 64GB model and the 128GB model was $499. Effectively, you can 4x your storage size at the same price of a 1st gen 64GB model.

Other upgrades include a jump from 4GB to 6GB of internal RAM and a faster Snapdragon processor. The Quest 2 comes with a higher resolution LCD display (1832 x 1920 per eye) versus the original OLED display (1600 x 1440 pixels per eye). The new screen is capable of a higher refresh rate (90Hz versus 72Hz), but the LCD may have less contrast / deep blacks than the previous OLED technology offers.

One downgrade is a shift from the manual IPD lens slider to a slider that only has 3 positions. Battery life hasn’t changed much, offering just 2 to 3 hours of play before having to recharge the headset. Battery life in the controllers has improved though. Oculus claims that the AA battery in each controller will last 4 times longer as the previous generation.

If you are upgrading from the original Quest, all your games and software will transfer over to the new VR headset. Keep in mind that a Facebook login is now required to use the Quest headsets, a new requirement that Oculus implemented this year.

In addition to the announcement of the Quest 2, Oculus also announced that the company will be discontinuing the PC-driven Rift lineup of VR headsets since the Quest 2 will be able to connect to a PC via USB-C cable to take advantage of higher resolution, complex games. Sales of the Rift S will be halted during Spring 2021 and consumers will have to look to HTC and Valve for PC-specific innovations in VR headsets.

Price Drop: Oculus Quest 2 debuts at $299, $100 cheaper than previous gen