There’s no question about it: Meta makes some of the best VR headsets around. The Quest 2 has been a fan-favorite for years now, but the Quest 3 has been gaining up on its sibling, attempting to dethrone it. We also have the Quest Pro, which is great at the right price.
And even though these headsets have all managed to impress us with their hardware — at least, whenever each of them launched — we can’t deny that software plays a large role in making the magic happen. And Meta deserves props for that for sure.
The latest v60 update for the Quest platform — by which I mean all applicable headsets, since they technically share an OS — has just started rolling out. So did Meta just give you one more reason to celebrate during the holiday season or is this a bummer of an update? Let's discuss!
New Horizon Home environments
With this new update, Meta is giving you the option to choose between three brand-new environments for Horizon Home. And if you’re still uncertain about what that refers to: it’s your home interior when you boot up a Meta Quest headset.
The three locales consist of:
Lakeside Peak: an inspiring mountain view
Blue Hill Gold Mine: for when you want to feel like a cowboy
Storybook, which totally looks like some sort of elvish kingdom
If you’re eager to check these out as soon as you get the update, you can do so via the following steps:
Press the Meta button on your right controller
Open up the Quick Settings panel
Use that to open up the full Settings page
Under Personalization, select “Home Environment” and have at it!
Just remember: you’ve got to download these first and as such, they take up space on your headset. If you want to free some up, you can delete any older ones that you don’t find yourself using that often.
Improvements to Boundaries and Space
This feature will be most appreciated by the people who use their headsets in more than just one place. Basically, it allows your headset to remember more than one location in terms of space and boundaries.
And do you know what that means? Less time spent in redrawing the same boundary lines every time, yay! Fair warning: this will lend your point cloud data to Meta for processing, so you’ll have to agree to that.
But I wouldn’t worry about it much, because you can delete all of your gathered data at any time via the Privacy Settings section on your Quest headset. Neat!
Revamped user profiles
The social butterflies among you will know that you’ve got a Meta profile too! Even though it’s much more bare-bones than what a Facebook profile can let you list off, it’s still a neat way to give a quick TL;DR about who you are in the Metaverse.
This latest update doesn’t just spray a fresh coat of virtual paint on top: it adds extra functionality too! Now, your profile will be a bit different, depending on who’s looking at it. Basically, whoever is checking it out will see only what you have in common.
A bit of an odd, and really Facebook-ish change. I’m not particularly excited about this one, and I think that most VR enthusiasts won’t be either. But hey, please do let me know in the comments what you think about it.
Peak Performance for the Quest Pro
As you might’ve guessed, this one impacts the Quest Pro specifically. Basically, Meta have enabled the headset’s processor and graphics processor to run on higher clock speeds when running MR apps.
What does that mean for you? Well, it means a smoother experience when using mixed-reality apps. Developers can take advantage of this in creative ways too, so we’ll see what the future brings.
No need to wonder about how to turn this one on: it should kick-in automatically when the need arises.
What I'm excited to find out is if this can extend to improving the performance of VR apps too? This isn't confirmed as of now, but if any of you has noticed that your favorite VR game is running smoother after the update, do let us know.
Phone notifications get removed
Basically, if you’ve set up your Quest headset through the Quest app on your phone, the two get paired in a way, which lets you view your phone notifications on your headset. Cool!
But it didn’t always work. Some notifications didn't go through, while others got delayed. My experience? Well, this never worked for me, so I honestly don't even know what these looked like. And I won’t ever know, because the feature is getting removed.
Rumors are that Meta was taking too much time with trying to adjust itself to the growing list of privacy concerns on iOS and Android, so it opted to remove the feature from the Quest platform entirely instead. And honestly, if that was really the case, I'd say that this was the right call.
But hey, there’s a silver lining here. If you are among the folks that need to get notifications from your favorite Meta-branded social media platforms, then you can just get the versions of the apps, native to the Quest platform. And that includes WhatsApp for VR now too!
All the little things
Here’s a lightning round of all the other updates, which Meta decided not to focus on with the v60 update:
Passthrough mode will be maintained for apps that support mixed-reality until the game or app is fully prepped to launch
Security improvements to the Quest browser’s Safe Browsing
A new Layout app, which can help you get accurate measurements of real life things via your Quest headset
How do I install the latest Quest Update v60?
The Quest series of VR headsets install updates automatically, so you don’t need to worry about doing anything. Well, anything beyond this:
Boot up your headset and charge it up
Keep it in sleep mode
Keep the WiFi on
And then go have a cup of joe or five, since Meta doesn't like to roll out updates en-masse. This thing happens gradually, meaning that you may get the update today, tomorrow or next week.
But what if you, like, went to sleep and the headset updated while you were in dreamland? Ah, well, you can check if you've gotten the update via these steps:
Press the Meta button on the right controller
Open up Settings
Go to System
Select Software Update
Does it say v60?
If yes, then you’re good to go! Have fun, and don’t forget: you can be a cowboy now and cowboys don’t need no notifications!
Stan, also known as Stako, is a smartphone enthusiast who loves exploring the limits of Android customization. His journey with mobile tech began with the Nokia 5110 and evolved with devices like the BlackBerry 9350 Curve and Samsung Galaxy A4. Despite his love for Android, he holds equal respect for Apple, considering the iPhone 4s as a significant milestone in mobile tech. Stan started his writing career early, contributing to MetalWorld, and harbors a passion for creative writing. Beyond smartphones, he's interested in photography, design, composition, and gaming, often preferring solo projects to hone his objective thinking. He's also an avid student of open-source technology and consoles, with a special fondness for the Pebble Watch, Arduboy, and Playdate.
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