Facebook-owned VR development firm Oculus has revealed that the Air Link feature for the Oculus Quest 2 has gone live via a recent firmware update. This enables users of the VR headset to wirelessly connect to their PCs through Wi-Fi, without relying on third-party applications.
According to Facebook Reality Labs head Andrew Bosworth, the new feature is part of the Oculus v28 update, which has started rolling out to all owners of the device. Initially scheduled to be released next week, the company decided to push out the device’s firmware update early because, as explained by Bosworth on Twitter, “the excitement over Air Link can’t be contained.”
The feature, as mentioned earlier, will enable users with a strong and stable Wi-Fi connection to play PC-based VR games wirelessly on their Quest 2 headset. Despite already being built-in to the device, Oculus originally locked Air Link from being accessible by users prior to this due to continued development and improvements.
https://twitter.com/boztank/status/1385654671008620544?s=20
However, owners were able to bypass this and utilise the wireless connectivity to PCs, thanks to third-party applications such as Virtual Desktop. Oculus previously warned that this unofficial method is “not representative” of the final result, which they aim to deliver via Air Link. That being said, whether the official headset-to-PC wireless performance is better or on par with Virtual Desktop’s solution remains to be seen.
Despite being enthusiastic about Air Link’s release, Oculus insists that the wired connection (aka Oculus Link) is still the more recommended option for Quest 2 users. This method ensures that they will receive the best experience in terms of visual fidelity, and better headset-to-PC latency. Furthermore, the USB-C connection will also keep the VR device charged while users are gaming with it.
Unfortunately, it appears that owners of the original Quest VR headset may have been left in the dust by Oculus. At this current time, the company did not announce any plans of introducing the new Air Link wireless connectivity feature to the 2019 VR device. It goes without saying that the same may apply to the brand’s short-lived Oculus Go headset as well.
(Source: Oculus [Official blog] / Andrew Bosworth [Twitter])
