Quest 2: Meta rebranding is complete
For almost a year now, Oculus Quest has gradually become Meta Quest. Now Meta has put the last piece of the rebranding puzzle in place.
In October 2021, Facebook renamed itself Meta. At the same time, it was said that Meta would phase out the Oculus brand. At least, as a name for VR hardware. Everyone who buys a Meta headset should know by whom the headset is built, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth explained the rebranding in spring. Only software and developer tools would continue to carry the Oculus name.
The "Oculus" brand is disappearing
Just a week after the announcement, the rebranding began:
- Still in October, Meta starts advertising VR products with Meta Quest 2 instead of Oculus Quest 2.
- In November, the new branding appears on the official website for the first time.
- In January, Meta changes the Twitter handle from @Oculus to @MetaQuestVR.
- Those who start the Quest since March are greeted by the Meta logo instead of Oculus squiggles.
- Also in March, Meta replaces the packaging, with Meta logo and new lettering.
- In April, the first images of VR headsets marked with the Meta logo instead of Oculus lettering appeared.
- In the same month, Meta changed its URL: Oculus.com now refers to the new Meta Store.
This morning, one of the last Oculus remnants dropped on my smartphone. While the mobile app was still called "Oculus" this morning, it now says "Meta Quest" under the icon. This should more or less complete the rebranding.
The Meta rebranding contradictions
It is strange that the Oculus logo is still visible above the lettering (see cover image). The brand also remains present in other places. There is still the Oculus Store, the Oculus Blog, the Oculus Developer Blog, and even the Oculus button (meta button?) of the VR controllers still has an Oculus logo on it.
Joe Rogan: "So your new Oculus is awesome, its very impressive, very cool".
Mark: ...... pic.twitter.com/8Lc9FwKIs2
- Nathie (@NathieVR) August 25, 2022
Will these elements disappear as well? Not necessarily, as they are all tied to software aspects. Still, it's somewhat inconsistent and confusing that Meta's VR products carry two different logos and brand names.
When podcaster Joe Rogan recently met with Mark Zuckerberg for a media-savvy interview, he referred to Meta's upcoming headset as "Oculus" several times - cementing the discontinued headset brand in the minds of millions of listeners. Meta PR must not have been happy about that.
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