Meta will discontinue Quest 1

Time goes on and that includes technology. Unfortunately, according to a statement presented by the company, the original Oculus Quest headset released in 2019, responsible for kicking off standalone VR headsets as a viable platform for games and applications, will end its service.

Vitrually Extinct

As you read, Meta has announced that it is winding down support for the first iteration of its Quest VR technology through an email to owners of this device in order to inform them about future changes to software support.

In its mail the company said: we launched Quest 1 over four years ago and we are grateful to the Quest 1 community for pushing VR forward. As we look to the future, we remain committed to supporting the community of Quest 1 users and will continue to support the headset with a few changes.”

What about Quest 1 users?

In the case of Quest 1 users, they will still be able to use all of the currently available apps and hardware, but no new features will be included in Quest 1 updates and of course the compatibility of apps moving forward is not guaranteed.

At the same time, you have to know Meta Horizon social features won’t work starting on March 5, 2023 so that you will no longer be able to create or join parties. In short, no more visiting your virtual pals or inviting them over to your virtual abode. To finish, the company said they will continue creating to roll out critical bug fixes and security patches until 2024.

Meta’s decision was disappointing

Okay, to be honest, knowing Meta is done supporting Quest 1 after less than five years is basically disappointing and shockiing, even more so if we take the modern video game consoles as the baseline.

For instance, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are still fully supported, even though both consoles were released in 2013 (making them 9 years old) and although the Quest is based on hardware developed for Android smartphones, most of which don’t receive major OS updates after 5 years.

Furthermore, many devices continue working beyond that point, and sincerely, limiting new features to the newer headsets is understandable, but removing existing social features is perhaps the most frustrating part of the whole affair.

The other Quest versions

Released in 2019 as the successor to Oculus GO, Quest launched in the spring of 2019 at a retail price of $400. And it would be superseded in fall 2020 by Quest 2. The version that is still Meta’s mainstream self-contained VR headset. though the Quest Pro, launched at the end of last year was introduced as a new premium option.

But in any case, both devices have newer and more powerful hardware than the original Quest, and on top of that, Meta tentatively suggested that its next technology, Quest 3, will arrive at some point later this year.

At the end of the day, many of the early technological devices that paved the way for all others will at some point disappear and be replaced sooner or later. In the meantime, you can check here for the full support article posted on the company’s official website. Good luck!