Meta’s Oculus Quest 1 is a standalone VR (virtual reality) set revealed in September 2018 and released in May 2019. Its successor, Meta Quest 2, initially named Oculus Quest 2, has also been available since October 2020.
Meta has revealed its plans for Quest 1 in an email sent to Quest 1 owners and then shared the content of the email in a Meta blog post. The message starts with an appreciation of the Quest 1 community and then sorts the upcoming changes.
According to the message, Quest 1 owners will still be able to use the headset and available apps. Meta won’t be shipping new features to Quest 1. Meta plans to maintain the system software with critical bug fixes and security patches until 2024. Quest 1 users will no longer be able to create or join a party. Quest 1 users with access to Meta Horizon Home social features will also lose access to these features on March 9, 2023. They won’t be able to invite others to their Home or visit someone else’s Home.
Although the message states that security support for Quest 1 will continue until 2024 through bug fixes and security patches, this change impacts the social features of Quest 1 heavily.
This decision indicates that Meta is planning to lean more toward the newer Quest 2, which has a more streamlined design and a much more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 SoC (System on a Chip).
This decision on the fate of Quest 1 and the rumors about Quest 3 may indicate that Meta is planning to abandon Quest 1 completely and even begin the same gradual process for Quest 2 in the near future.
