Oculus Quest 2 update will add 120Hz refresh rate, says Facebook insider

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Refreshing speed

Oculus Quest 2
(Image credit: Oculus Quest 2)

Oculus Quest 2 looks likely to be updated with a 120Hz refresh rate, according to comments made by the Vice President of Facebook Reality Labs.

During a Q&A session on Instagram, Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth responded with a literal ‘thumbs up’ to a question about whether Quest 2 would see an update to 120Hz, and touched on a number of other topics relating to VR.

The faster the refresh rate in a VR headset, the smoother the virtual world it creates, and so 120Hz marks a dramatic improvement on the 72Hz refresh rate the Quest 2 originally launched with (before being updated with support for 90Hz in November 2020).

Technically-speaking, the Quest 2 is already capable of achieving (or ‘upscaling’ to) a 120Hz refresh rate, but the applications themselves are required to run at 120 FPS – which is a tall order for a mobile chipset. Issues of performance and battery life also occur when running the headset at 120Hz.

Now, though, it seems developers may be able to develop software for a device which runs at 120Hz natively – we suspect Facebook would make it optional for developers to choose between 72Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the requirements of their application – meaning players can expect, in the near future, improved gaming performance on the Quest 2. 

As with 90Hz support, the company would likely roll out 120Hz support on the Quest 2 through a software update, though there’s no word yet on a release date. 

Looking to the future

The suggestion that the Quest 2 will be upped to a 120Hz refresh rate is good news for fans looking towards the Oculus Quest 3. 

We had assumed that the 90Hz refresh rate upgrade the Quest 2 received in November 2020 would be its last, and we wouldn’t have expected to see a major increase (if any at all) in a new device given that most VR titles still don’t yet support that higher refresh rate.

With the Quest 2 set to receive native 120Hz support, though, it’s safe to assume that a Quest 3 would launch with that capability.

In any case, while the Quest 3 is still a long way off (2022, we reckon), expect to see dramatically improved gaming performance on the Quest 2 in the near future – which can only further help push VR gaming into the mainstream.

Via RoadToVR 

Axel Metz
Axel Metz
Phones Editor

Axel is TechRadar's UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site's Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.  Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.