oculus

Almost all the Big Tech companies have smart assistants these days except for Facebook. There have been rumors and signs that the social media giant would be coming out with its own but nothing has materialized so far. It might, however, be taking another step in that direction by pushing its own trigger phrase to activate voice commands not only on its Portal smart display but even on the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset.

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Oculus Quest is getting two useful features today, particularly for instances where there are multiple people in a household using a single headset. Oculus has rolled out multi-user accounts and app sharing - two somewhat self-explanatory features that nonetheless make it easier to ensure that everyone using a headset not only has their own account, but also their own progression in games and their own privacy settings.

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It has been quite a while since Facebook surprisingly acquired Oculus but, for the longest time, the social network allowed the pioneering VR platform to operate in its own bubble. That has been changing lately, and not exactly in good ways, with Facebook enforcing its account to even use the standalone Quest headsets. A side effect of that, however, is some deeper integration with Facebook's products, like those who need to keep chatting away on Messenger even in virtual reality.

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Oculus fans' fears finally came true when Facebook announced that the Oculus Quest 2 would require a Facebook account to even use. That hard requirement had very significant and mostly negative implications and it seems that those will continue despite the mounting criticism and backlash. That said, the Oculus Quest 2 also came with limitations not directly related to Facebook accounts and while some of those will soon be removed, the implementation might leave users, especially families, scratching their heads in confusion.

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Anker revealed a wireless charging dock for the VR headset Oculus Quest 2 that, if you ask us, should have come standard. The dock looks like it was made for the device. The dock allows the user's VR headset charging situation to be an ever-so-slightly simpler affair.

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Oculus's latest standalone VR system should be no-brainer upgrade to the Quest line but its existence has sadly been marred by some controversies. Some of it isn't the Oculus Quest 2's fault, to be fair, as Facebook's takeover has been anything but smooth. There are, however, some complaints about the device itself as well as its official accessories, notably the Elite Strap and the Elite Strap with Battery that are now finally available again after the quality of the straps were put into question.

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The fact that the Oculus Quest 2 requires a Facebook account to use has been a point of contention for a lot of VR fans out there, and now it seems that governments are beginning to take notice. Today, Germany's Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office), which is responsible for investigating and enforcing matters of competition law, announced that it has "initiated abuse proceedings against Facebook to examine the linkage between Oculus virtual reality products and the social network and Facebook platform."

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The next software update for Oculus Quest ads some features for both Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2. For Oculus Quest 2, specifically, this update will add native support for 90Hz refresh rate "across the entire platform. The display system in the VR headset was able to support 90Hz before, but it was relegated to a few key bits of the ecosystem. Now that's gone broad.

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Oculus Virtual Reality Checks (VRCs) is a set of technical recommendations "designed to help developers create more accessible VR software." The company suggested today that this set of recommendations will allow developers to make their VR apps more compelling to more people. Areas of focus include audio, visuals, interactions, locomotion/movement, and "other aspects of accessible design."

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The Oculus Quest 2 is an admittedly impressive kit as far as standalone VR systems go. Its otherwise positive debut, however, has been marred by controversy, confusion, and consternation over the requirement to have and use a Facebook account to even use the previously independent product. Unsurprisingly, there have been attempts to circumvent that requirement but the most successful one so far is also asking for trouble by jailbreaking the Quest 2 that will surely force Facebook to respond in kind.

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From a purely business point of view, it's no surprise really that Facebook wants to unify all its platforms under a single account. While it can't really force that on Instagram and WhatsApp, especially not while under intense scrutiny, it was able to put its hand down on the relatively younger Oculus ecosystem. Whether Facebook and Oculus really thought about it or not, it is only now that users are coming across the fine print regarding the Facebook account requirement for using Oculus devices and they're not good discoveries at all.

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It was inevitable that Facebook would eventually leave a more tangible mark on its Oculus VR business but it still ruffled some feathers when it was revealed that to even use an Oculus headset, one would need to have a Facebook account. Facebook probably presumed everyone these days has one and that Oculus users, both present and future, also do. That's apparently not the case and now Oculus Quest 2 buyers are left with a temporary paperweight while waiting for their new Facebook accounts to be unblocked after being banned for practically no real reason at all.

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