Meta Quest (2): Update brings link sharing, better PC VR image and more

Jan 20 2022 Tomislav Bezmalinovic

Image: Meta

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The first Quest update of the year takes the first step towards Horizon Home, improves the interface and sharpens link streaming.

The update has been rolling out to Quest owners on a staggered basis since January 17, 2022. As usual, it can take up to a week or more for the update to reach all users.

You can check the current firmware version of your Meta Quest (2) under Settings > About. If the update is ready for installation, the option will appear in the same window.

A manual installation should not be necessary, since Quest (2) usually installs updates automatically after they are available in the VR goggles.

Let's move on to the new features and improvements of update 37.0, which follows update 35.0. Meta skipped Version 36.0.

Content

There’s movement coming to the VR home

Horizon Home is Meta's vision of a social launch environment. The idea is that you can invite friends to your VR home to spend time with them, arrange to play the next round of games, or watch Oculus TV together. The feature was announced at Connect 2021 last October and should be out soon.

The video below shows how Meta envisions Horizon Home.

Now Meta takes the first step towards Horizon Home and allows teleportation in the start environment: You can now teleport to predefined hotspots in your start environment. If you close the universal menu and press the analog stick, you will see the hotspots. Rotation around your axis is now also possible. Unfortunately, the social component is still missing.

Sharper PC VR streaming thanks to Link Sharpening+.

Meta has improved the sharpening filter algorithm introduced in update 33.0 for PC VR streaming via Oculus Link and Air Link. The image should be a bit clearer now.

Share links from a smartphone

This handy feature lets you send web links from your smartphone to your Meta Quest via the Oculus Companion app. The link will automatically open in the Oculus browser. The following video walks you through the steps. Link sharing currently only works with Android devices, iOS support will follow soon.

Stationary Guardian now with passthrough mode

Until now, stationary Guardian mode faded in the boundaries of the game area as you approached them. What's new here is that the view smoothly switches to passthrough mode so you can see your surroundings. This is more useful and doesn't take away from the VR experience as much.

More flexible windows and 2D apps

Meta has improved the quest interface in several ways. The height and width of app windows can now be adjusted dynamically. This feature is supported by the Oculus Browser, Oculus TV, the File Manager, and a number of 2D apps (see Update 34.0).

The Display Bar now lets you switch between a tablet and desktop view for 2D apps, allowing you to adjust the distance, size, and rotation of 2D apps to suit your needs.

Another change affects the Oculus Browser. When you switch between the two modes, browser tabs are combined into a single window for clarity. Convenient.

Hand tracking: Easier access to basic functions

Fans of visual hand tracking are in for a treat: You can now use a pinch gesture to bring up a quick actions menu that gives you instant access to basic functions like taking screenshots. The following video demonstrates this new and useful feature.

Other improvements

Update 37.0 also brings the following changes:

The ability to determine the order of your VR apps with a new sort and filter function.
Following Logitech K380, Apple's Magic Keyboard is now also tracked correctly and transferred 1:1 to VR for working in virtual reality.
The Explore page has been redesigned and now makes it easier to find content you might like. It also lets you keep track of what your friends are up to and shows you shared links (see link sharing above).
More settings options for the touch controllers.

You can find the full text for Update 37.0 in the Oculus Release Notes.