Quest v60 gains better boundaries and faster Pros, but drops phones
The latest Quest update is rolling out with several improvements for all headsets and extra speed for the Quest Pro but drops support for phone notifications.
Meta claims it will begin storing your boundaries in the cloud so the Quest can recognize several locations without the need to scan or draw them out again and again. Along with the guardian improvements, Meta will add three more home environments.
Another interesting upgrade arrives in v60 for Meta's most expensive headset. Meta is significantly increasing clock speeds when using mixed reality games and apps in the Quest Pro.
Those are some of the top headlines, but there's much more in v60. Let's get into the details.
3 new Quest homes
In a virtual environment, the cost of construction should be cheap, yet Meta offers a limited number of home environments to choose from. The number has slowly crept up and some games like Asgard's Wrath 2 include new homes.
Here are the new Meta Quest v60 home environments. | Image: Meta
The slow pace of release makes each new collection seem like a special event, but the latest selection of Quest homes looks more interesting than usual.
There's the realistic-looking Lakeside Peak with an incredible view of mountains and unspoiled nature. Blue Hills Gold Mine recreates a moodily lit Wild West town. Storybook seems more like the usual Meta environments with high arches and 3D graphic-style vegetation.
When these new home environments land, you should be able to customize them by changing the Quest home skybox to create a look of your own.
Better boundaries
Meta said the v60 Quest boundary improvement uses cloud computing to remember more guardians. It's a welcome change if it means you can travel between multiple places within the home and start using the Quest without scanning or drawing a boundary again and again.
When v60 arrives on your headset, you'll need to opt into sharing point cloud data in Privacy Settings to take advantage of this upgrade.
Faster Quest Pro
Meta gave the Quest Pro and Quest 2 CPU and GPU speed boosts earlier this year to help improve graphics in VR games and apps. Now Meta's done it again, this time for mixed reality.
Meta claims with the latest update, the Quest Pro will enjoy a "34% increase in CPU performance and up to a 19% increase in GPU performance compared to when the headset first launched."
To make older chips faster, Meta must either optimize code or increase the processor's clock speed. For such a significant improvement, it's probably the latter which generates extra heat. In the future, you might find your Quest Pro getting warmer when using mixed reality.
Quest phone notifications
If you pair your Meta Quest to your iPhone or Android phone, you can currently receive notifications from your mobile device on the headset. This feature is somewhat useful when it works. Unfortunately, it's quite finicky.
The phone notification feature will be removed. It seems Meta got tired of trying to navigate the complicated privacy and security permissions of iOS and Android. That's disappointing but isn't a major loss since this feature was only a half-measure.
The Quest natively supports Whatsapp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram, so those notifications appear in the headset tab. Other social media apps must be sideloaded and don't open when you select the Quest notification in the phone tab.
More v60 updates
You'll be able to see common apps in other players' profiles if they choose to share that information. This might inspire more communication among groups of like-minded gamers.
An example of a player profile in Quest v60. | Image: Meta
Passthrough mode will be maintained in games and apps that support mixed reality. If you are using passthrough in Horizon Home, your surroundings will remain visible while loading a game.
Quest v60 brings stronger security with improvements to the Quest browser's Safe Browsing and end-to-end encryption for cloud backups.
A new Layout app will come with the new Quest system software. Meta says it "helps you spatially measure, align and visualize real world objects directly in your physical space."
The Quest v60 update could take days or weeks to reach your device. The best way to get the update is to leave your headset on in standby mode and connected to a charger.
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